InuYasha: The Reincarnations
by Sheyvannasensei
Summary: High-school seniors Kitsune and Lina never expected that they would end up falling into the well in the shrine, falling head-first into past lives that they never knew they had. With the help of two reincarnated demon-slayers, Inuyasha and the group have a better chance of killing Naraku; but only if the girls don't cause too much drama to function in the feudal era. xLEMONtoCOMEx
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

"We all had to do it," one of the girls stated, folding her arms.

"It's tradition," another girl added.

Kitsune and Lina were standing outside one of the buildings in the Shinto shrine; with only one step away from being members of an exclusive club at their high school. All they had to do was go into the building that was in front of them and stay in there for an hour. "It doesn't sound that bad," Lina whispered, nudging Kitsune with her elbow. Kitsune didn't look that worried. This would be a walk in the park for them. Neither one could be intimidated that easily.

"Don't worry Lina, I'll be there to protect you from the big, bad Boogie Man," Kitsune said, jokingly. Lina rolled her eyes at her friend, turning her attention back the group of girls that surrounded the two. "Are you guys ready?" the president of the club asked, walking up to the door of the building. Kitsune and Lina looked at each other and smiled. In tandem they nodded to the president and stepped towards her. "Good luck, ladies," she giggled, opening the door to the building. "We don't need luck," Kitsune replied, walking in. Lina followed without a word. The inside was dark and very dusty, but besides that there was nothing wrong with it. They continued further into the room by walking down a set of stairs. When they reached the bottom of the room, there was a well. "What's a well doing inside a building?" Kitsune asked, walking towards it.

"I don't know. Do I look like an architect to you?" Lina stated, sitting down on the bottom step. "All I know is that all this dust is going to kill my allergies," she sighed. Kitsune was looking down the well with a puzzled look on her face. "What's the matter?" Lina asked, as she walked towards her. "There's a purple-ish light coming out of the bottom," she told her with a confused expression. "What? That's weird let me see," Lina demanded, sticking her head into the well a little bit. Instead of there being a dirt floor at the bottom of the well there was a glowing, purple light. "That's strange. There _is_ a purple light coming from it," Lina said, looking at Kitsune with her brow furrowed.

"You know what? I think the girls outside put something in here before we showed up," Kitsune stated. For a moment the two girls were quiet. They thought about the possibility. "That's what it is. The girls are trying to pull a trick on us," she announced. Lina nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't put it passed them to do something like this," she laughed, returning to her seat on the step. Kitsune continued to look down the well, while Lina doodled carelessly in the dust. "I wonder how much more time we have left," Lina sighed. _This tradition is actually kind of boring_ she thought to herself sighing. _I can't believe that they think this is scary_ she added. Lina suddenly heard a squeal from the direction that Kitsune was in. She looked up to see her friend falling into the well. Lina ran over and peered down to see if Kitsune was alright. "Are you okay?" she asked, laughing a bit. After a couple moments of silence she began to worry. "Kitsune? Are you okay?" she asked, sticking her body further into the well to see if she could see her friend at the bottom. The brick Lina was holding on-to for support broke off and she flew down into the darkness. She waited to hit the bottom of the well, but was surprised when it never happened. The purple-ish color surrounded Lina's peripheral as far as she could see. Then, with-out a warning she hit the hard bottom. "Oww, get off of me," Kitsune whined. It took Lina a while to realize that she was laying on top of her friend. "Oh, sorry," she murmured, rolling off of her. "I swear that was the longest fall in the history of falling," she added, dusting herself off.

"I second that. I mean I thought it was never going to end," Kitsune grunted as she stood up. "I didn't know that wells could be this deep. How are we going to get out?" she added, helping her friend up off the ground. Lina and Kitsune looked up, noticing right away that there was light coming from the opening above.

"Well, it doesn't look like we're in that deep, so we can probably climb out," Lina finally replied. Kitsune looked at her like she was crazy. "What?" Lina sighed. "You expect me to climb that?" she questioned. Lina sighed again and put her hand to her forehead. "Kitsune, it's either climb up that, or die down here," she explained, removing the hand from her forehead, setting it on Kitsune's shoulder. "I know you can do it. It's not that far up," she told her encouragingly.

"Fine, I'll climb up. But you better catch me if I fall," Kitsune said, getting a hold on the bricks. "When I get up there, I'm going to kick someone's ass," she muttered, making her way up the walls. _These girls have gone too far. What if one of us got hurt falling down the well?_ Kitsune thought angrily. There would be hell to pay when the girls finally made it out of there. Kitsune slowly, but surely made her way up the side. Lina was honestly surprised that her clumsy hadn't fallen, or slipped. Kitsune had never had any coordination; it was her curse.

"Come on! You're almost to the top," Lina told her, hoping she would make it out. Kitsune didn't reply and just kept on climbing. "She must be really concentrated," Lina murmured staring up at her friend. Kitsune finally made it to the top and climbed out of the well. "Lina, I don't think we're in the building anymore," Kitsune gasped.

"What?" Lina murmured. "Did you hit your head when you fell?" she called up. Kitsune didn't reply, so she began to worry. "I'll be right up," she called up again. Lina began to make her way up the side of the well as well. She was just about to climb out, but then she heard voices. She had no idea whose voice it was because she had never heard it before. All she could tell was that it was a guy. Lina froze, trying to hear what the man was saying. No matter how hard she tried to hear him, she just couldn't make out the words. Before she could think of anything else, a little head popped up over the well. "Inuyasha, there's another one in here," the person called.

_Oh crap… Are we getting jumped?_ Lina thought. Sweat was starting to form on her forehead. "What should I do?" she asked herself. The only thing she could think of was to crawl back down and find a stick, or anything to be of use. She began to climb back down, but before she got too far someone grabbed the shirt of her school uniform and lifted her out of the well.

"Where do you think you're going?" The man asked. Lina didn't know what to say, so she just looked for Kitsune. She found her friend sitting under a tree with three people standing around her. Two of the people were wearing traditional clothing and so was the man carrying Lina, but one of the girls was wearing the girls' same school uniform. Lina finally noticed that they were now in an open field with trees surrounding it, not in the building they had once been in.

_Where the hell are we?_ she thought. The strange man then threw her over his shoulder and carried her over in the direction of the other people. As they got closer Lina could see that Kitsune was talking freely with one of the girls. It happened to be the girl in the uniform. _I've got to be dreaming. I hit my head when I fell and now I'm dreaming _Lina thought again. _What I'm seeing just doesn't make sense, so it has to be a dream._ The man finally put her down next to Kitsune. Lina was able to finally get a good look at the people surrounding her. She was shocked to notice that the girl in the uniform was Kagome, a girl who did go to their school. The other people were unrecognizable. She turned back to Kitsune to see her staring at something. "What is it Kitsune?" Lina asked her, afraid to follow her gaze.

"He… he has dog ears," she stuttered. Kitsune was staring blankly at the face of the man who had carried Lina over to the tree. The first thing that caught her eyes was the white dog-ears on the top of his head. "Yeah, I have dog ears. So what," the man replied, crossing his arms across his chest. _I'm dreaming, I am so totally dreaming right now!_ That was the only thing going off in Lina's head. She couldn't think of anything else. There wasn't another possible solution to what was happening. It had to be a dream. "Lina? Kitsune? Are you guys alright?" Kagome asked, taking a step closer to the two girls on the ground. Her face was so sincere and confused.

_Why would she be confused?_ Lina asked herself. _If any of us should be confused it should be Kitsune and I,_ she added in her head. "Yeah, we're just perfect. We just fell down a well and now we're having a crazy dream. It's nothing serious," Kitsune told Kagome, clearly being sarcastic. "Dreaming? You think your dreaming?" the man with dog ears laughed. Kitsune did not find this amusing, so she just stared at him. "What?" he said, staring right back at her. "Inuyasha, it's perfectly normal for them to think that they're dreaming. I thought the same thing the first time I fell down the well," Kagome explained. "But the thing that I don't get is how they got here. I mean they are just humans. They can't be reincarnations of anyone could they?" Kagome asked.

"They could be. You can never be too sure," the other man said. This man appeared normal for the most part. He had black hair with a little pony tail in the back. He was wearing a traditional-looking robe; he also carried around a staff. "Miroku is right. You can never be certain. I mean, you never knew that you were a reincarnation until you fell down the well," the other woman added. She wore a traditional kimono and had a giant boomerang on her back. Kitsune shifted slightly next to Lina. They had no idea what these strangers were talking about. For all they knew they were still dreaming. _It's not unusual for me to have __weird dreams__. I get them almost every night. It's just a dream. It's not a big deal_ Lina told herself, beginning to panic.

"Someone pinch me," Kitsune blurted out. "I just want to wake up and go home," she added. "Hey, does anyone know where Shippo went?" the one called Inuyasha asked, ignoring Kitsune altogether. "I believe he went to go get Lady Kaede," Kagome replied, ignoring Kitsune as well. "Which was a good idea. Maybe Lady Kaede will be able to tell us if they are reincarnations or not." "I say we make a run for it," Lina whispered to Kitsune. She was officially tired of all the talking and I just wanted to wake up or get home. Kitsune nodded in reply, and she started to stand up. "One, two, three," Lina mouthed, and at the same exact moment they stood up and started to run towards the well. Kitsune had never been a fast runner, so the man with the dog ears quickly caught her.

"Let me go!" she yelled as she kicked and squirmed. "I said let me go," she repeated. Inuyasha put her over his shoulder and began the chase after Lina. "Don't you dare touch me!" she screamed, running as fast as she could towards the well. Just before she was about to jump into the well, something grabbed the back of her shirt. The next thing she knew she was on the ground. "Did you really think we were just going to let you go that easily?" the man with the pony tail laughed. Lina could still hear Kitsune yelling and making a fuss.

"We're back!" a voice called from behind. Lina turned around to see an old woman walking her way. Next to her was what looked like a little boy, but when he got closer, the girls saw he had a fox tail, feet, and pointy little ears. Kitsune let out a gasp. "What's wrong with him?" she asked, looking away. "This is just too much to take in," Lina said. "There's a guy with dog ears and a kid with a fox tail, feet, and elf ears," she added. At that moment she became dizzy. "Uh, Miroku, you might want to help her," Kagome started, but it was too late. Lina was already on the ground, passed out. It seemed to Lina like she was out of it for hours, but in reality she was really only gone for about five minutes. When she started to come around again, she didn't move or make a sound. She was hoping that she would wake up at the bottom of the well with Kitsune, and when they climbed out of the well everything would be back to normal. "Is she going to be okay?" she heard a little kid's voice ask in concern. _Well, there goes all my hopes and dreams of everything being normal. _


	2. Chapter 2: Tag-Team

"She should be fine. I believe that the shock just got to her," a women replied, an older woman at that. Suddenly Lina felt something warm touch her butt. Whatever it was she didn't stop it; she was too focused on the moment. "Well Lady Kaede, do they look familiar to you at all?" Kagome questioned. Her voice sounded eager and a little strained. Lina wondered how Kagome ever came to be in this strange world. She didn't know much about her to make any predictions.

"They do look like someone I've seen," the old women started. "Hmm, I just can't remember who it was though," she added. Lina could feel the old ladie's eyes boring into her face even though her eyes were closed. The warm thing that had rested itself on her butt began to move in a rubbing motion. It took her awhile, but she finally figured out what the thing on her butt was. Without thinking she threw herself off the ground and was on her feet. She looked down to see who was the pervert that was touching her while she was supposedly passed out. It was the cute man who had stopped her from jumping in the well earlier. She remembered that the other girl beside of Kagome called him Miroku. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Lina yelled finally. "I don't know what you mean," Miroku replied, playing dumb. "Don't play stupid with me, you pervert," Lina snapped crossing her arms. She hated to admit it but she felt a blush appear on her cheeks. Despite yelling, she didn't feel violated, she felt…complimented.

"Now I remember!" the old lady cried out startling Lina. This caught everyone's attention as they all turned to Lady Kaede. "They were demon slayers that were after Naraku. If I remember right, they once had an army of slayers on Naraku's trail. That's why Naraku killed them himself. He thought of them as a threat," Lady Kaede explained. "Why were they after Naraku?" Inuyasha asked. Lina finally saw the first glimpse of her friend again as she noticed that Kitsune was still on his shoulder.

"Can you please put me down?" she whined. Her face was a little red and she had strings of hair streaming down to block her view. She felt like she was going to pass out from being upside-down for so long. "If I put you down, you're going to try to run," Inuyasha replied. Kitsune sighed, but didn't deny it. Lady Kaede cleared her throat before she answered Inuyasha's question. "They were after Naraku because he had destroyed their village, or something to that affect." "That would explain why they were able to go through the well," Kagome stated. "Do you think they can go through the well because they are supposed to help us?" the other woman asked Kagome. They were talking like Kitsune and Lina weren't even there. "That could be a possibility," Miroku, the pervert replied, still sitting next to where Lina stood.

"Uh, hello! We're still here!" Lina yelled, waving her hands in the air. "And we do have a say in what we do," she added, walking over to Inuyasha. "Put Kitsune down," she demanded, tired of being ignored. "Make me," Inuyasha stated. He seemed like the proud arrogant type. Lina sighed and crossed her arms across her chest, fed up with the weird dog-eared guy. "You think you can just throw us around like we're rag dolls, well your wrong. We are living breathing people and I demand that you put her down before I have to kick your ass," Lina told him with a straight face. Inuyasha laughed in reply. "So you wanna be that way," she muttered. "Fine then."

"Uh, dog boy… I would listen to her. She's pretty mean when she's mad," Kitsune warned him, but he just laughed again. Lina backed up slowly and put her arms down at her sides. "Put her down!" she screamed as she charged at him. The look on his face was priceless. It was like he never expected an 18 year old girl to react in that way. Within a second she had him on the ground, punching him.

"Did you see that!" the fox boy exclaimed. "She tackled Inuyasha with no trouble at all," he added. Kitsune was free and could finally stand up and dust herself off. "Finally, I was getting tired of that," Kitsune sighed. "Stop hitting me!" Inuyasha yelled, throwing Lina off of him. She landed on Miroku and the fox boy. "Will ye all stop it!" Lady Kaede demanded. "This is getting us nowhere." Lina sighed as she got up off of Miroku. "Well, you know what else isn't getting us anywhere?" Kitsune asked, walking next to her companion. "Not telling us what the hell is going on," she exclaimed. "She's right," Kagome sighed. "We need to start talking to them and explaining everything to them. And they have the right to decide whether or not they're going to help us," she added. "Damn straight I'm right. Damn straight we have the right to decide," Kitsune said, getting really in to the moment as if it was a revolution. Lina couldn't help but laugh at her under her breath. Sometimes she had to stop and wonder why she was even hanging out with her. But it always came down to, _she's your best friend and you act just like her._

"But where do we start? There's just too much to explain," the little fox boy stated. "Maybe we can start with introductions?" Lina suggested. "It would be nice to know your names." "Great idea," Kagome started, but was interrupted by Inuyasha. "It's a stupid idea," he snorted. "Well no one cares about what you think Inuyasha," the little boy laughed. The dog-eared man didn't think it was very funny and walked over to the boy and hit him over the head with his fist. "Kagome, InuYasha is being me to me!" the boy cried. "Shut up Shippo!" "Inuyasha stop it!" Kagome demanded.

"Maybe we don't have to introduce ourselves. Let's just keep yelling at each other long enough to figure everyone's name out," Kitsune stated, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, you guys seem to be good at that game," Lina added. "It's all his fault!" Inuyasha yelled, pointing to Shippo. "Nuh- huh," the boy replied sticking out his tongue. "Oh my god," Kitsune and Lina sighed at the same time. "Everyone be quiet and sit in a circle!" Lady Kaede yelled, slamming her foot down. It was like dealing with babies! Lina understood the little boy acting that way; he looked like he was eight years old for crying out loud, but Inuyasha was a grown man, and he was acting like a 2 year old. "Fine," Inuyasha stated, sitting down. Everyone else listened to the old woman, immediately getting in a circle formation. "I believe the best way to start our story is with Inuyasha and Kikyo," Lady Kaede told them. "And I know Inuyasha doesn't like to talk about it, so Kagome would ye tell them?" Kagome looked a little startled and the look on her face turned from thoughtful to sad.

Pretty soon Kagome was done telling the girls about how Naraku had deceived both Kikyo and Inuyasha into hating each other, and that Naraku disguised himself like Inuyasha and killed Kikyo. _That's a great reason to hunt someone down and kill them_ Lina thought to herself. "I would understand why you would want to kill him," Kitsune murmured, speaking what Lina had thought. "Kagome dear would ye like to also tell them about what happened to the Shikon Jewel?" the old women asked. Kagome didn't hesitate on this request and she finished her story about how she ended up in this odd place. She also explained how the Shikon Jewel was shattered into a lot of smaller pieces that Naraku the demon was trying to collect. "Why does a stupid jewel matter some much anyway?" Lina couldn't help but ask. It seemed so ridiculous that people would go to such lengths to get their hands on a jewel. Then Kagome explained to the girls about demons….

"There's half demons, like Inuyasha, who are half demon, half human. And then you have your full demons like Shippo." She explained matter-of-factly. "That would explain a lot," Kitsune sighed, looking at Inuyasha's dog ears. Then Kagome went on to explain that the Shikon Jewel makes demons stronger, and that was why the evil demon Naraku wanted it so badly. For a moment there was silence in the circle. There was just so much to take in. Everything made sense to the girls, but it didn't at the same time. Lady Kaede began to speak again, "Miroku, I believe it's ye turn." Miroku nodded in reply. He told the girls about how his family had been cursed for many generations. Naraku had given this curse to his great-grand father and it was passed down to every boy born into the family. The curse was called the wind tunnel and when used, it sucks up everything in its path to send it to hell.

"What's so bad about that?" Kitsune asked. Miroku looked as if he expected a question like that. He told them that every time he uses his wind tunnel, the hole gets bigger, and the hole would soon be big enough to consume his whole body. "Implode?" Lina asked quietly. It seemed like the right word to use. Everything seemed to pause for a second; no one talked or moved. For the first time Lina noticed that the sun was setting down behind the trees that surrounded the group. "Sango, ye story is the only one these girls haven't heard. Would ye like to explain why ye are after Naraku?" Lade Kaede asked. "I'll tell them my story, but I think we need to start heading back to the village," she replied, standing up, breaking the circle. "Back to the village?" Kitsune asked, confused. "If I'm not home soon, my mom is going to freak," she added. She couldn't imagine that her cell phone worked in this odd parallel world.

"Well, I'm sorry girls, but I don't think ye are going to be able to go home tonight," Lady Kaede told them. "There's just still too much to tell you." Hostage was the first word that popped into Lina's mind. _We are being held hostage _she thought. "It's okay. We're just going to finish telling you everything and then you'll be able to do whatever you want," Kagome explained seeing the looks on the girls' faces. Lina took a deep breath in to calm herself down. "Okay," she said nodding to Kitsune. Lina secretly had a plan and she knew it was going to work.

Everyone stood up and started to walk down a path that lay between the giant trees. It wasn't long before huts and people were visible. The village looked exactly how Lina imagined a feudal village to look like. The huts were made of wood and weren't very big. Old and young people were walking about, staring at the two odd girls. What a strange sight they were with their school uniforms and modern hairstyles. At least they had Kagome to blend in with. The group made it to Kaede's hut just as the sun disappeared. "Perfect timing," Shippo sighed. "Finally, I can get some sleep. It's been forever since we slept inside," Kagome said sitting down around a fire that Miroku had just made. "I am so tired," she added with a yawn. "Maybe we should finish with the stories in the morning," Inuyasha in the room nodded their heads in agreement.

Within moments everyone was settled into their places they were to sleep in. _In a couple hours Kitsune and I will be home in our own beds. We have to wait until everyone falls asleep and then make a break for it_ Lina thought, with a smile spreading across her face. The hours seemed to pass so slowly. She was getting anxious to leave and kept shifting around in my sleeping bag that Kagome had provided for two girls. It seemed like everyone was fast asleep, Kitsune included. _Damn_ Lina sighed. _I guess I can leave and come back for her later. I mean these people don't seem like murderers_ she thought. She slowly got to her feet and made her way to the exit. Within seconds she was outside and on her way back to the well. She was just passing the last of the huts when something pushed her into a wall and pinned her there.

"Where do you think you're going, Lina?" She was so startled that she let out a small shriek. She looked up into the face of her pursuer. "Miroku," she sighed in relief. "You scared the crap out of me," she added. "You didn't answer my question, Lina," he stated, moving his face closer to hers. She could feel his breath against her skin. It felt nice and smelt nice as well; she couldn't help but take it in. "I-I was just out for some air," she replied, shaking a little. "You're a bad liar," he told her, brushing his finger against her cheek. She felt the blood rushing to where his fingers had once laid. "And you know that how? You hardly know me," Lina stated, gaining her head back. "Then why are you shaking?" he whispered into her ear. "And why is your heart racing?" he added, bringing himself closer. She immediately lowered her eyes so she didn't have to look him in the face. "No answer?" Miroku asked, putting a finger under her chin. He began to lift her face up, but was interrupted by a shrill voice. "Miroku? What are you doing?" the voice called from a distance. When Miroku heard this voice, he moved away from Lina and lowered his hand.

_Perfect! _she thought, running out of his reach. "Lina!" Miroku yelled chasing after her. It wasn't long before she was at the well. She was just about to jump into the dark whole in front of her, but something pushed her. She went flying hard into a tree. Her head was the first thing to hit the trunk. She felt something warm drip down the back of her skull. "You're not getting away tonight," Inuyasha grumbled, standing over her body. He was the last thing she saw before she blacked out.

Lina woke up to the sun in her face. Her head ached with a pain that she didn't know was possible. She laid and listened to Inuyasha, Kagome, and Miroku's conversation. "Inuyasha, did you have to be so rough on her?" Kagome asked, kneeling next to Lina. "I would have caught up to her in time," Miroku stated. "I mean look at her, she looks so…broken." He let out a sigh. "You weren't even halfway to her. When I got there she was about to jump in the well. If I let you retrieve her, she wouldn't be here right now," Inuyasha retorted. "Are you alright, Lina?" Miroku asked concerned.

He saw that her eyes finally started to flutter open after being passed out throughout the night. "Lina?" he asked again when he didn't receive a response. "What?" she whispered angrily. "I knew you were trying escape," Miroku stated. He seemed almost proud of himself for figuring it out before anyone else did. She fought back a smile. _What an idiot. Of course I was trying to escape, but you were the dumb one to let down your guard_ she thought. "Is she finally awake?" Kitsune asked. "She just woke up about five minutes ago," Miroku told Kitsune. "And I bet she's already thinking of another escape plan," Inuyasha interjected. "You should probably talk to her before she gets up and makes a run for it," he added. Everyone began to walk out of the hut to allow the girls to talk. Kitsune noticed Miroku pause at the door-way for a moment and look back at Lina before he continued out of the hut.

"Talk to me? Talk to me about what?" Lina asked with a confused look upon her face. Kitsune sighed, knowing her friend might not comply with what she had to say. "This morning I listened to the rest of their stories," Kitsune told her, ignoring her question for now. "These people have been put through things that I can't even imagine, but they push forward not matter what," she added. "I don't quite understand where you're going with this," Lina whispered. "What I'm trying to say is that we need to stay here. We need to help them defeat Naraku. They need our help and I'm willing to do just that," Kitsune stated. Without warning Lina grabbed her friend's face with both of her hands. "Kitsune, you can't be serious! Did they brainwash you or something?" she yelled. You could hear the desperation in her tone. "I'm dead serious! I can't let them do this alone," Kitsune told her in a stern voice.

Lina's expression changed when she heard the serious tone of her voice. It was a voice Kitsune hardly ever used. "So you trust them that much?" she questioned. Kitsune felt that everything the people she had just met said had a ring of truth to it. She had a feeling that this was their calling. This was something that they had to do…together. "I do, you're just worrying too much like usual. I know it's a lot to take in, but I promise there's nothing to worry about. You can trust me can't you?" Kitsune smiled. Lina nodded in reply. "I guess we have unfinished business," Lina laughed. "Really? You'll stay and help?" Kitsune asked excitedly. "Of course I'm going to stay. Someone needs to keep an eye on you and I was born for the job," she laughed. "Well get up lazy! Inuyasha says we need to get some training before we go looking for Naraku," Kitsune stated, putting her hand out as an offer to help Lina up. Her friend didn't seem very happy about the training part, but she knew it was necessary. They made their way outside to find that everyone was waiting around. _They're probably all waiting to see what Lina said_ Kitsune thought, brushing her fingers through her hair.

Kitsune and Lina walked over to Inuyasha. Lina could feel everyone's eyes on her and she immediately felt awkward. "Ummm, Inuyasha," she started, waiting for him to look at her. He didn't even glance down. "Here, you guys are going to need these for training," he told them. In one swift movement he threw two wooden swords at the girls. They both caught them with ease. "But… I haven't even told you if I was going to stay or not," Lina breathed. Inuyasha finally looked at her for a really long time. "Do you really think that these ears are for show?" he asked sarcastically. "Well they're not, they actually can hear things. And I heard yours and Kitsune's whole conversation," he smiled. It wasn't the kind of smile people made when they were happy; this smile was more like a "Ha, I'm awesome," smile. Lina looked down at the wooden sword then over to Kitsune. Kitsune was already messing around with hers as if it was a toy. She sliced the air a couple of times then she smiled at her raven-haired companion.

Are you ready to go down?" Kitsune asked Lina, holding her wooden sword out. "If you're asking me if I'm ready to kick your ass, then yes. Yes, I am," Lina laughed, lifting up her sword as well. She was trying her hardest to keep her eyes focused on Kitsune, but somehow they found Miroku instead. He was talking to Sango. "Lina pay attention!" Inuyasha yelled. "You guys can start whenever," he said in an authoritative voice. Kitsune didn't wait one moment after Inuyasha spoke those words. She charged at her friend, swinging the wooden sword with surprising ease. Lina dodged out of the way smiling to herself. It was as if they were little kids playing again, but this time they were more serious. Every time one missed the other, a stronger, more violent attacked followed.

After what seemed like hours of trying neither Kitsune nor Lina could land a hit on each other. They either blocked the attacks or dodged them. Many people from the village gathered around to watch the two fight relentlessly. Lina even heard some people put down bets on who was going to win. "Are you ready to give up yet?" Kitsune asked, swinging her sword towards Lina. She quickly jumped out of the way and swung hers back. Kitsune let out a grunt as she blocked it. They were both so exhausted. They had sweat running down their faces and it was getting harder to breath. "You know how competitive I am," Lina stated with a smile. She had no plans to give up quickly.

The fight went on for another twenty minutes or so before Inuyasha stopped them. "Okay you two, I think it's time to move on," Inuyasha announced sounding bored. They both let out sighs of relief. Kitsune put the fake, wooden sword on her shoulder and headed over to where Inuyasha stood. "So how'd we do?" she asked. They both had some sense of pride in themselves. "You did a lot better than I expected," Inuyasha noted. "You're still no better than rookies though," he grunted. Despite his attitude he seemed surprised by their hidden talents. "It's like you guys were born for it," Miroku stated with a surprised expression on his face. He had walked over to watch the two battle. "Well, what did you expect from a couple of reincarnated demon slayers?" Lina laughed, nudging Kitsune with her elbow. "Okay, on to the next part of today's training," Inuyasha told them, taking the training swords from them.

"Now, what we're going to do is what I like to call 'tag-team'", Inuyasha said, with a smile dancing on his lips. The almost smile actually seemed scary. The image of him pushing Lina into the tree kept replaying in her head. "Sounds fun," Kitsune stated. "How do we play?" she asked, eager to get on with the so called game. "Two people start out, with hand to hand combat. Anything goes. Once someone feels like they can't fight anymore they run over to their team-mate and tag their hand. That means that person has to fight whoever the other player is. You can keep switching players until neither one can go on," Inuyasha laughed cracking his knuckles. "Get it?" They both nodded. "Good, Miroku is on my team. You two are on a team," he added.

"I'll go first," Kitsune said a little too cockily. She may not have been coordinated but she had always wanted to try her hand in beating someone up. Now she finally had the chance. Lina wasn't quite prepared to face Inuyasha anyways. "Come at me, human," Inuyasha said, getting into a fighting stance. Once more Kitsune didn't waste any time in charging at him. Lina was surprised to see her friend tackle him with such ease. Inuyasha let out a yell in his surprise, allowing Kitsune to take him down. Before Lina knew it, her short friend was pounding the half-demon's head into the ground. Lina wanted to laugh at the crazy sight, but suppressed it. Inuyasha became enraged and kicked Kitsune off, into the air. Kitsune landed with a thud, but got right back up.

Before she could charge again, Inuyasha went and tapped Miroku's hand. Miroku switched him spots, handing Inuyasha his staff. It seemed like no time before Kitsune already had the pervert in head lock. It seemed at first like neither male wanted to harm the amber-haired girl. Maybe they were just testing her. Suddenly Miroku escapedher vice grip and began pushing and punching her. She looked a little confused by this; she thought that a guy would never hit a girl. After another push Kitsune had no more energy. She ran over and tagged Lina's hand.

"Ready to beg for mercy?" Lina questioned, walking over to the perverted man. He didn't answer; he just put his hand up in front of his chest. Lina somehow put what happened between her and the monk behind her and ran at him. She quickly kicked Miroku's legs out from underneath him. He fell flat on his back with a shocked look on his face. He laid on the ground, silent for a moment or two. "Oh did I hurt you?" she asked mockingly. "Please don't hurry to get up," she added, nudging him with her foot. Miroku then grabbed one of her legs, pulling it, bringing her hard to her knees. He didn't even hesitate in punching her in the stomach. She let out a gasp, quickly taking in air. _He was so worried about my well-being earlier and now he's beating the crap out of me _Lina thought. _So ironic_ she laughed in her head. After recovering from the blow at her stomach she took her elbow and swung it at his face. It hit right across his left cheek bone. She didn't wait to see his reaction before she intertwined her fingers to make a big fist. She bent her elbows and hit him as hard as she could in the back, bringing him to the ground. Miroku let out a small yelp, and for a moment Lina felt sorry for him. She was out of breath after her attack and slowly walked back over to Kitsune to tag her hand.

"You have to be rough," Lina advised her friend. "That's the only way you're going to get anywhere." Kitsune nodded with a determined look on her face. Miroku had made his way to Inuyasha and tagged him in. Inuyasha was the one to charge this time, unwilling to let a small human girl show him up. She waited, thinking of any wrestling move she could have ever seen on T.V. One finally popped into her head and when Inuyasha was the right distance from her, she quickly jabbed her arm out. Inuyasha's face connected with the fist at the end. He fell on his knees and covered his face with his hand. "What the hell!?" he yelled out in pain. "Pfffff, ah ha ha ha ha!" Lina laughed out. "You just got clothes-lined!" Lina laughed uncontrollably. Soon Kitsune was laughing too. "What the hell, what the hell," Inuyasha kept saying over and over, his hand covering his sideways nose.

"I guess this means we win," Lina stated, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes. She was laughing so hard that she actually had started to cry. Miroku had made his way over to the two. He was laughing as well. "I guess so," Kitsune said, giving her partner a high five. "We kick ass," she smiled. "That we do, my friend, that we do," Lina sighed with content. Inuyasha finally got up off the ground and uncovered his face. His nose looked broken and red. The girls started to laugh again. "Shut up! That was a cheap shot," Inuyasha yelled. "Whatever, you're just mad because you guys lost," Lina announced, looking from Miroku to Inuyasha. "Yeah, sore loser!" Kitsune giggled. "Training is over for today," Inuyasha growled. "It's time for dinner."

Everyone made their way towards Lady Kaede's hut. Miroku walked right next to Lina the whole way. Every time she looked at him, he smiled at her with a brilliant white smile. She couldn't help but smile back. Partly because she was attracted to him, but partly because she was enjoying how she got back at him for what he had done last night. When they arrived everyone was already gathered around a small fire. "Hey guys. How was training?" Kagome asked, handing the girls their food. Kitsune told everyone about the sword fight and explained how they kicked the men's asses in 'tag-team'. By the end of her story everyone was laughing. Well, almost everyone. Inuyasha didn't find the story very funny; though it looked like his nose was already healed. "Wow, you two must really be reincarnations of demon slayers," Kagome sighed, after she was done laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever," Inuyasha snarled. "But we have bigger things to worry about. Like getting to bed so we can leave in the morning," he finished. "What? We're leaving already?" Shippo asked. "We need to start tracking Naraku again," he simply stated. "But what about our training?" Lina asked, worryingly. "We'll train while we travel," Inuyasha replied. "So everyone rest up," he added. "Come on, Miroku. We should go gather supplies," Sango said, standing up. She held her hand out for him to take. "Great idea," he replied, taking her hand. She helped him up, but even after he was standing, he didn't let go of her hand. He smiled at Sango as they left the hut. Lina was a little confused as to what she had seen. The little boy must have seen this. "They're together," he remarked, then went over to where he and Kagome slept. "Together," Lina breathed.

She looked around and saw that everyone was all ready for bed. She slowly made her way over to where she slept; next to Kitsune. "Night, Lina," Kitsune said as Lina laid down next to her. "Night," she replied. _So Miroku is a man whore_ she thought to herself closing her eyes. _But at least I know now_ she added in her head, yawning. The training must have taken a lot out of her because within minutes she was fast asleep.


	3. Chapter 3: Koga of the Wolves

Lina woke up to the sounds of quiet arguing. "What were you even trying to do? Seduce her Miroku? You're lack of respect for this relationship never ceases to amaze me," Sango's voice rang in Lina's ears. "Sango, please; I was just distracting her so I could stop her. We might need them to help us. Why are we still arguing about this," Miroku sighed. He sounded exasperated as if they had already had the same argument many times before. "I just don't like the way she looks at you; like you two are friends when you've only just met! I don't like the way you look at her either for that matter," Sango finished, the anger in her voice was almost tangible.

Lina had heard enough. She stood up to make her presence known. The arguing quickly stopped. She walked out of the hut, mindful of the sleeping others. "Good morning Lina," Miroku stated smiling as he saw her walking didn't answer, but glanced at him with a slight smile. "Good morning Sango," she stated with bitterness in her voice. Sango glanced up at her in shock, but said nothing. She walked away instead in an angry huff. "Why do you let her talk to you like that, you're a grown man," Lina stated glancing at Miroku. "I mean, it was pretty messed up of you to seduce me like that, but it's not like you did anything. You're just a flirty guy and that's fine where I'm from," Lina said thoughtfully.

Miroku sat with his mouth wide open, at a loss of words to say. No one had ever spoken to him in that way. He shut his mouth and looked into the distance after Sango; he had never thought about the way Sango spoke to him before. Before he could say anything to Lina he heard footsteps outside of the hut. "Good morning you two," Kitsune stated suspiciously. She stretched and yawned as she soaked in the morning rays. Inuyasha and Kagome walked out after her. "Kagome I have been thinking…I know I want to join you guys but I think we would feel much better if we could go back and tell our families where we were. Were you allowed to pass back through the well right away?" Kitsune asked looking at the younger girl. "Um…I didn't leave for quite a while, but I'm sure you girls can go back through any time," she said in a thoughtful voice.

"Kagome, you and I will have to go with them to make sure they don't make a run for it," Inuyasha stated with his arms crossed. "Inuyasha, I think you should give them a little more credit than that," Miroku stated as he stood up. "Just trust us…we'll go and be back in less than an hour," Kitsune stated. She was more than ready to get home, even if just for a few minutes. "Let's just get it over with. Don't worry. I won't run," Lina said walking off in the direction of the well. Kagome, Kitsune, Lina, Miroku, and Inuyasha quickly made their way to the well. "Something doesn't feel right," Kagome said looking over the edge. Inuyasha sniffed the air.

"I'll go first," Kitsune said jumping over the edge of the well. She didn't even think twice about what Kagome and Inuyasha were talking about. Lina heard as her friend hit the bottom of the dark hole. "You alright down there?" Lina called. "I think it's broken!" Kitsune called back. Lina chuckled and jumped over the edge. Dust flew into the air as Lina hit the cold bottom. "Kagome…is there some secret word?" Lina asked stomping around in the dusty darkness.

"I don't know what's going on, honestly," Kagome said in a confused voice as she glanced over the edge. Inuyasha lowered his hand down into the well to help the two girls out. "We're going to have to go back to the village to figure this out," Inuyasha said gruffly. He and Kagome turned to walk back, forcing the two to follow, leaving behind any chance they had of going home.

Kitsune sat with her head in her hands. There was nothing to do in this time period besides fight demons, talk about fighting demons, and think about the best way to fight demons. She couldn't listen to her music, she couldn't browse the internet, hell she couldn't even get five minutes of time to herself! She let out a deep sigh. Even if she wanted to go home she couldn't because the portal was sealed. It was like it knew that they had some sort of destiny to fulfill and it wasn't going to let them leave until they did. Speaking of they, she had no idea where her friend Lina had run off to and she was stuck sitting in a circle with Kagome, Inuyasha, and Shippo. "Why is your name Kitsune if you're not a fox? My name should be Kitsune," the little fox demon said almost possessively. "My mom was a hippy and I was born with reddish-brown hair," Kitsune replied matter-of-factly.

Everyone had such history with each other in this time that Kitsune felt like a loner; she hardly fit in at her high school and definitely didn't fit in 600 years in the past. Finally she saw Lina walking towards her followed by Miroku the handsy monk. "Where the hell were you guys and why were you alone?" Inuyasha said jumping off of his seat around the campfire. It was getting close to dusk and the group had just finished eating dinner, if you could call it dinner. The smoke from the fire kept the bugs at bay and saved Kitsune's moist skin from being eaten alive in the humid summer evening. "I was simply showing Lina where we get our water supply and she offered to help," Miroku said calmly. He never seemed bothered by Inuyasha's bad attitude. "Who are you to ask so accusingly anyway," Lina said with an attitude. "You're not our dad or anything," she said setting two buckets of water down. "Hey just wait until Sango hears that you and the new girl were out doing who-knows-what in the sunset for half an hour," Inuyasha said smugly. "Y-you wouldn't do that, that would be cruel, and I told you, we were getting water that's all!" Miroku said sounding like he was just caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Kitsune saw Lina's tough exterior crack for a brief second and a bright red blush flew to her cheeks. "You wouldn't do that Inuyasha because I know about you staring at Kitsune's butt the other day and I bet Kagome didn't hear about it," Lina snapped back. Inuyasha's face turned bright red and his usually loud voice turned into a yell. "You just made that up!" he said pointing to Lina. "It's fine if you look at Kitsune Inuyasha, it's not like we are a couple," Kagome said in an ice cold voice. This made Inuyasha shut up and walk off towards the trees. "Ouch," Lina said looking over at Kitsune. At least Lina was still exactly the same in the year 1400 as she was in the year 2000. Kitsune could always count on her friend keeping her sane and relatively normal.

Everyone began talking about other things to avoid the Inuyasha display that occurred. "Lina, were you two really just getting water?" Kitsune asked giving her a judgmental look. "I swear that's all we did! Well, and we talked and I guess flirted a bit," Lina said looking guilty. "You know he has a relationship with Sango Lina and she could kill you if she wanted to! I know he's cute, but watch yourself," Kitsune said. She was always the motherly one that tried to make the most sense out of things. Lina didn't say anything but Kitsune knew that she understood. It's not like Kitsune could blame Lina or anything…Miroku was quite the looker. He had kind eyes, handsome features, and had a calming demeanor that Lina was probably attracted to.

If Miroku could tame Inuyasha then he could definitely handle Lina…maybe. Kitsune even thought that Inuyasha was attractive. He was strong, handsome, and had an f-you attitude that Kitsune had always found appealing. It was his present insecurities that made him seem more like a kid than a man to her though. _Nobody has that big of an attitude unless they're afraid of getting hurt_ Kitsune thought. But she wasn't here to get with a hot half-demon guy, she was here to fulfil some unknown destiny of avenging the tragedy that was hers and Lina's past life.

When Lady Kaede told Kitsune and Lina of their past lives as demon slayers Kitsune hadn't been surprised. She had always known that they were different from everyone else at school. What she wasn't sure of was how on earth she was going to be of any help to the cause of finding the sacred jewel shards. She was 18, 5'3, and had basically no athletic skills whatsoever. At least Lina was taller and athletic, Kitsune could see her being a warrior. At least Kitsune had her mental emotional strength, mostly mental. If it weren't for the fact that classes were over for the summer she would be freaking out about missing school work. School was her whole life.

"We have been here for three days guys. Why can't we leave to at least go get our stuff? I feel like I'm rotting in the same outfit" Kitsune asked. "I was allowed to pass back through after I had killed my first demon. I just had to get back in touch with my past life and the portal opened," Kagome stated. Kitsune wondered why Kagome kept coming back to the feudal era; maybe it was because of her moral duty, maybe she had an emotional connection to her past life, or maybe it was because of Inuyasha. Men could make you do crazy things. "Maybe we should forget about getting your stuff for now and head towards the castle in the morning. You two might rekindle something from a past life and from what I have heard it is teeming with demons," Miroku suggested.

Just then Inuyasha came running back and stood in front of the sitting Kagome. His ears were back and his face was in a twisted snarl. "What the hell's wrong with him?" Lina asked. "He smells something," Shippo said running to Kagome's lap. The wind began to blow and a whirlwind of leaves and dust appeared blocking Kitsune's vision. Suddenly there was a tall figure of a man standing in front of Inuyasha. He was slightly tan and had long black hair pulled into a ponytail. His eyes were blue and except for his old-timey armor and fur outfit he looked pretty normal. Then Kitsune noticed his pointy ears and sharp teeth and nails. "Hi Kagome," he said with a deep cockiness in his voice. "Hi Koga," Kagome said with a friendly smile. Inuyasha let out a growl.

"What do you think you're doing here you smelly wolf?" "I came to see Kagome, like always, and to see if you have found Naraku yet so I can finally kill him." Koga said smugly. "Speaking of smelly, what is that stench? I know you normally stink Inuyasha, but this is an all-time low," he said holding his hand over his nose. "That's not me you idiot, it's those damn new-girls!" Inuyasha yelled pointing at Kitsune and Lina. Kitsune looked over at Lina immediately to avoid Koga's questioning gaze. Lina was smelling her shirt out of confusion. "Who are they and why the hell do they smell so bad?" Koga said, his voice muffled by his hand. "Koga, this is Kitsune and Lina. They came from the future era like Kagome. They are reincarnated demon slayers and we think they are here to help us fight Naraku," Miroku said walking up to Koga. "Naraku would be able to smell them twenty miles away," Koga said, his voice changing pitch as he plugged his nose. "I didn't think we smell that bad!" Lina said defensively. "I told you we should at least be able to change out of these dirty clothes," Kitsune whined embarrassed with herself. "It's not a dirty smell, it's just the smell of your era. I'm used to it cuz I've been there so much and Kagome's smell eventually wore off," Inuyasha said matter-of-factly. _It's probably the smell of gasoline, smog, and factories_ Kitsune thought to herself. She never realized that no one here would have ever smelled the smells of a metropolitan city.

Just then two men came running from the forest to the clearing where the group stood. "Those are Koga's henchmen," Shippo said to Lina and Kitsune. "Kogaaaaaa!" they both yelled as they reached the group. They were wearing the same outfit that Koga had on and had the same pointy ears. With them was a pack of three or four large, gray wolves. The two men were out of breath and must have been running for quite some time. Kitsune noticed that they were smaller in stature than Koga and not nearly as attractive. One had short black and gray hair and the other had a crazy mohawk. "I'm Koga, of the wolf-demon tribe and this is Hakaku and Ginta," Koga said directed to Kitsune and Lina. "They are the ones that smell so bad," he said to his two henchmen who had already covered their noses. "It's nice to meet you," they said smiling at the two girls. "Hi Kagome!" they said waving to Kagome who was still being guarded by Inuyasha.

Kitsune wondered what was going on between the three of them; did Koga have some romantic relationship with Kagome? As if Lina heard Kitsune's thoughts she leaned into her friend and whispered, "Is there a love triangle here?" Inuyasha's head snapped towards Lina and Kitsune. "There's no love triangle between me, Kagome, and Koga!" he stated furiously. "He just insists on bothering us to flirt with Kagome, interfere with our mission, and get his ass kicked; he's relentless," Inuyasha snarled at Koga. Koga snarled back and put his fists up. "Do you want to try to kick my ass dog-boy?" he said tightening his body. "Guys, guys we don't have to do this," Kagome said getting in between the two. "You're right Kagome," Koga said taking her hand. Everyone watched as Kagome awkwardly pulled her hand out from Koga's. "Shot down," Lina mumbled more quietly this time. Inuyasha must have heard it anyways because Kitsune saw a large smile spread across his face.

In order to avoid the awkwardness Kitsune looked down at the wolves that had followed Ginta and Hakaku in. They looked like normal grey wolves but had large curved canines poking out from under their lips. "Oh my god, are those Ezo wolves?" Kitsune asked running over to the pack. She studied them closely scratching her head. "They have the wider, flatter cranium and their canines are unlike any other I've ever seen. They have to be the Ezo wolf, but they went extinct in the 1800s!" she said excitedly. "Oh no…the geek is coming out," Lina said shaking her head at her friend. "What the hell is she talking about?" Inuyasha asked looking over at Lina who just shrugged. Kitsune was planning on going to the university to study animals after she graduated that year. Kitsune looked up from the wolves and in an instant Koga had her hand in his. "You know about my wolves," he said gazing into her eyes. Kitsune snatched her hand away from Koga and walked away with an embarrassed look on her face. "He sure bounces back fast," Sango said making Miroku chuckle.

"Well…since I came all the way here to discuss Naraku, I'm not leaving until we talk about these so-called demon slayers you have here; if they're anything like Kagome than maybe they're worth something." Koga said glaring over at Inuyasha. "But…I can't talk to them until they wash that stench off! Even my hand stinks now!" Koga said covering his nose with his other hand. "There's a little spring we use for bathing and washing our clothes in. I'll show you," Kagome said grabbing hold of Kitsune and Lina. Kagome was a couple years younger than Lina and Kitsune, but she was very kind and open to them. Kitsune thought it probably had to do with the fact that they brought a little bit of her modern life back to the feudal era. "I can go ask Lady Kaede if she has any clothes you two can borrow," Miroku said with a smile on his face. "I don't think we will fit in anything her size," Lina pointed out. "Good point…I will ask around the village then," he said changing his direction.

Kagome guided the two girls to a peaceful little spring hidden in some brush. The sun was setting and Kitsune could hear frog calls from the shallow parts of the spring. "Don't worry, no one will come bother you. I'll bring you new clothes and some cloths to dry yourselves off with," Kagome said walking back out into the tall grass. "I hope I don't get some sort of algae fungus in here," Lina said sticking her foot in the water. "At least it's warm," Kitsune said having already walked in up to her calves. She was secretly afraid of frogs swimming up to her in the water, but the water on her legs made her feel too clean to care. The two walked all the way into the water in their clothes.

Once they were neck deep they removed their school uniforms and threw them onto a large nearby rock. "I don't care if I get fungus, this feels amazing!" Lina said dunking her head all the way in. Kitsune couldn't argue with her. Now that the sun was almost set she could see the full moon in the sky. Without all the buildings and air pollution she could see almost every star. It was never dark even in the deepest part of the night. "So, Koga's pretty damn cute," Lina said out of nowhere. "Cute…he's gorgeous!" Kitsune said thinking back to the wolf demon. "He's not hot like Miroku," Lina said thoughtfully. "Psh, he's hotter than Miroku! At least he doesn't wear a dress," Kitsune said teasing. "It's a robe and he wears a mini-skirt! That's way worse," Lina pointed out. After a second of silence the two began to laugh. They hadn't gotten to have alone time like this since they first arrived two nights ago. "I guess this era produced a lot of good-looking men," Lina said. "I have been thinking the same thing!" Kitsune said giggling. Reincarnated demon slayers or not, they were still teenage girls.

"I wonder if Koga, Inuyasha, and Shippo can hear us with their crazy demon ears," Kitsune thought out loud. "Only if they are a bunch of creeps waiting outside of the grass," Lina said. She was enjoying her time in the water, swimming around and frequently dunking her head under. "It's not like they see modern 18 year olds all the time here, I wouldn't blame them," Kitsune said thoughtfully. "You better start actually washing instead of thinking before you turn into a prune," Lina pointed out. Kitsune dunked her head into the water and when she emerged the breeze felt chilly. There was nothing left to do but wait for Kagome to bring something to wear. "I wonder what tomorrow's going to be like," Lina said looking up at the sky. "Well, I imagine we will be walking a lot," Kitsune said sarcastically. "Good thing we wore our walking shoes," Lina said equally as sarcastic.

The weeds began to rustle and the girls heard a small voice. "It's just me," Kagome said wrestling her way through the brush. She was holding a pile of cloths and two heavy-looking kimonos. "I'll set these by the rocks so you can dry off. These kimonos were all we could find, but they're pretty cute and they're all yours," she said smiling. "Thanks Kagome!" they said in tandem. "What a sweet girl, I don't remember seeing her around in school ever," Kitsune said thoughtfully. "Probably because she's here so much, duh. I heard a rumor once that she died," Lina said making Kitsune giggle. "Well let's put on our new clothes; maybe now Koga won't think you stink so much," Lina said swimming to the water's edge. "Me? I bet you're the stinky one!" Kitsune said splashing water at Lina. Lina replied back with a wave of water splashing Kitsune in the face. The two began laughing and splashing each other repeatedly. The weeds began to rustle again. "Don't worry you can come over, we won't splash you," Kitsune yelled thinking it was Kagome again.

The weeds split and the perverted monk's face appeared in the clearing. He was looking at the girls in the same way a hungry wolf looks at a couple of sheep. Kitsune immediately ducked her head deeper into the water, not sure of how much of her Miroku had seen. Lina on the other hand was enraged. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?" she yelled unleashing a tidal wave towards Miroku. "I don't know what you're talking about, I just wanted to see if the kimonos fit, and I found them you know!" Miroku yelled back sounding anything but sincere. Lina stopped when she had splashed so much water out of the spring that she had to dip in lower to not show him any part of her.

The monk ran off completely soaked from head to toe. "I think you got him," Kitsune said chuckling. "Let's just get out of here," Lina mumbled pulling a cloth off the rock. They dried off and put the new kimonos on. Kitsune admired how good Lina looked in hers. It seemed to fit her so well, like she belonged in this era. Kitsune just felt awkward and too free in hers. When they got back to the group the sun was completely down and the glow from the fire revealed everyone's faces. Kitsune had Inuyasha cut the sleeves off her kimono with his sharp nails.

Koga sniffed the air. "That's a little better at least," he said crossing his arms. "In the morning I'll send Ginta and Hakaku back to the tribe and I'll continue on to this castle with you. If there's a lead to finding Naraku I want in on it. It's too late to talk though, and there's no way I'm sleeping in the same camp with Inuyasha. We'll leave early," Koga stated standing up. He ran off before anyone could argue anything, leaving Hakaku and Ginta chasing after him. "How the hell'd we get stuck with that guy?" Inuyasha said in a low growl. "He's right though. We should leave early," Miroku said calmly. Kitsune guessed that no one asked him why he was soaking wet. Everyone agreed that it was time to go to sleep but Kitsune lied awake for most of the night thinking about the next day to come. She finally heard Lina's breathing become regular and knew that she had fallen asleep. She was then able to close her eyes and drift off into a peacefully.


	4. Chapter 4: The Past Revealed

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For hours the next day all they did was walk. Lina knew that someone had invented the wheel by then, why the hell wasn't Inuyasha pulling them in some kind of cart? And why weren't they all flying Kirara? Was it because it was only Sango's pet or would they all not fit on her? She thought all of this while staring at the ground that seemed endless. She kept kicking little rocks with the tip of her shoes and watched them go flying in front of her, just to be kicked again. Kitsune kept looking back questioningly. It wasn't like Lina was tired, she was just taking up the rear to watch everyone else. It at least gave her something to do. Koga was complaining that the group was walking too slowly for the tenth time in a row. "You don't have to walk with us, just run ahead or shut up!" Inuyasha snapped back. "No way mutt, you're just telling me that so I leave and when I'm gone you'll figure out something I don't know. I'm not falling for that again," Koga growled back. Lina let out a deep sigh.

She didn't know what was more annoying, listening to them argue or having to watch Sango and Miroku walk side-by-side the whole time. She knew she could walk in front of them and not have to see it, but seeing it made her too upset to walk faster. She also knew that she didn't know Miroku enough to be jealous, but how was she supposed to get to know him if he had this Sango-tumor attached to him all the time. Miroku glanced back at her and caught her gaze as if he knew what she was thinking. _Shit_ Lina thought as she quickly looked at the trees next to her.

She thought about yesterday when her and Miroku went to get water for the group. She only offered to go with him because she wanted to talk to him about the first night they had met. She never got the chance to talk about it nor did she get the chance to ask if he and Sango were together. Instead he just talked about their past adventures and how he met Inuyasha. Lina just listened and laughed like a good girl. What she really wanted to say was "Hey, why the fuck do you keep trying to seduce me if you are together with Sango?" Actions spoke louder than words though and she could definitely tell by the way that they were walking together that they were an item, plus Shippo had told her.

The sun was high above the tree line by the time they reached the gates of the castle. Lina looked up at the menacing walls that towered over the group. There was definitely something off about this place. You could almost feel the evil vibrate through the air. Lina looked over at Kitsune nervously. She wondered if her friend could sense it as well. The look on Kitsune's face should have said it all. Her brow dipped down in concern as she eyed her surroundings. How could this be the castle that Lina and her called home in their past lives? She had imagined it a lot more regal and magical looking. But instead an abandoned ruin stood before them. "Are you sure this is the place?" Kitsune finally asked after what seemed like an eternity of silence. "That's exactly what I was thinking," Lina sighed turning towards Inuyasha.

The dog-demon didn't look too thrilled to be there either, which didn't make the two girls feel any safer. The rest of the group seemed to be just as unsettled. "There is a strong evil presence here, but it's not Naraku," Koga growled. "Damn, I thought we would find him here for sure," Inuyasha cursed. "So does that mean we can leave then?" Kitsune asked hopeful that the answer would be a "yes". Inuyasha didn't hesitate, "No, there still might be something here that will tell us where to go next." _Shit, I was hoping he wouldn't say that._ Lina clenched her jaw tight. She wasn't sure if she was ready to face any demons. Sure Inuyasha was part demon, but that also meant that he was part human. Of course Shippo was full demon, but he was also just a child. Kirara was just a glorified house cat. And then there was Koga...Lina hadn't really thought about the fact that Koga was a demon. He looked so normal if you ignored the fact that he had pointy elf like ears and a wolf tail. Yes, she could handle coming face to face with demons as long as they weren't trying to eat her. And Lina had a feeling that they were going to run into some not so friendly things inside those castle walls.

"Well, let's get a move on then. Standing here looking at the gates is not helping our cause," Miroku stated. Koga nodded eagerly. Kitsune wondered what Naraku could have ever done to this wolf-demon to make him so anxious to kill him She decided she was going to ask Kagome when the time was right. Right now Kitsune had to focus on the task at hand: killing a demon so the portal would open again. She couldn't stand not wearing her own clothes. The kimono was definitely not her style, and was definitely not a suitable demon slaying outfit. Kitsune definitely had no intention on bailing on this journey. Lina and her had a destiny to fulfill here. This was something she just couldn't let go.

Without another word, Inuyasha unsheathed his sword. When he did the old, worn blade tripled in size. The transformation was so incredible that Kitsune wouldn't have believed it to be the same sword if she hadn't just witnessed it. "Sweet!" Lina squealed. "I wanna weapon just like that one," she added. Kitsune was just about to agree when they heard a shrill scream coming from inside of the castle. Miroku grabbed onto the prayer beads that held the wind tunnel closed in response. At that same moment Shippo jumped onto the monks shoulder. Koga let out a low growl while Sango and Kagome both drew their weapons. All Kitsune and Lina could do was stare at each other in horror. Even after the scream ended it still hung in the air, chilling Lina to the bone leaving her with goose bumps. Without warning Miroku and Inuyasha charged the castle's gates and ran into the court yard. Lina's heart sank as she watched the handsome monk disappear behind the cold, washed-out stone that laid between the forest and the spooky structure that she used to call home. Before she could rethink her decision, she grabbed Kitsune by the hand and ran after him. Kitsune let out a small yelp, but didn't fight her friend as they rushed into the wide opening. The air seemed much cooler once they were inside.

The wind picked up considerably and the sun was blocked out by dark, heavy clouds. "What the hell?" Koga stated, looking up at the almost purple sky. "This isn't good," Kagome whispered, the wind making it difficult to hear her. Lightning flashed across the sky and illuminated the area surrounding the mismatched group. Lina let out a horrified gasp as she gaped at what seemed to be a hundred bodies spread out before her. How could they not notice the instant they ran through those gates? It should have been impossible to overlook such a tragedy. Kistune tightened her grip on Lina's hand as she eyed the bloody scene. "Who could have done this?" she questioned, her voice cracking in the middle of the sentence. If the situation wasn't bad enough Lina spotted tiny bodies among the wreckage; children. "Who, or whatever did this is going to pay!" Inuyasha yelled, clenching his sword with both hands. Laughter echoed throughout the air. Everyone whipped their heads around trying to find the source of the sound. The only thing Lina could spot was a couple of blood red eyes peering from the edge of the court yard. "And who's going to make me pay? You, Inuyasha? Don't make me laugh," a seductive, but evil laced voice called out.

"Kagura," Miroku stated from under his breath. That name rang a bell. Where had the two girls heard it before? It was nearly impossible for Lina to remember. Kitsune leaned towards her friend, "One of Naraku's minions," she whispered, knowing exactly what Lina was thinking. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you expecting someone else?" The red eyes came closer until the owner was completely visible. The person that stood before the group wasn't what Kitsune and Lina were expecting at all. The woman was about 5' 5'' in height with black hair pulled into a high pony tail with a feather stuck in it. She wore a kimono and held a fan in her left hand. In all reality she was beautiful, but her eyes were so cold and emotionless. They scanned each person, not looking impressed. It was hard to believe that this was the one responsible for all the bodies that lay around them. She was only one person, and there were so many bodies. "I see you recruited a couple more morons to add you in your useless endeavor," she smiled, looking over Lina and Kitsune once again. "You did this?" Lina asked, ignoring the moron comment. Kagura's smile didn't waver as she nodded her head. "You're a monster!" Lina yelled, taking a step forward. "Be careful," Kistune warned. She understood her friend's anger, but she wasn't about to let it get the best of her.

There was something going on that they didn't really understand. Kagura had just murdered all these people. By herself. She had to be stronger than she looked. "That was probably the nicest compliment anyone has ever given me," Kagura replied. "Kagura, stop with the idle chat. What are you doing here?" Inyuasha demanded. "Do I really need an excuse to come see you, Inuyasha," she grinned. "But if you must know, I was sent to give your new friends a respectable welcoming." Kagura opened her fan in one fluid movement. The events that followed, Lina still didn't really understand. It all happened so quickly. Kagura waved her fan and the wind picked up in speed and strength. The hurricane like winds surrounded everything in sight. The already crumbling castle, collapsed a little more. "What the hell is going on?" Kitsune screamed over the already screaming wind. Lina was about to answer her friend when a piece of debris slammed into the side of her leg. She lost her balance and fell to the ground. Lina gasped as the air was knocked out of her lungs. The impact of the wind made it almost impossible for her to get back up. "Kitsune!" Lina cried. She frantically looked around her, but it was no use. She could hardly see five inches in front of her face. Finally she pulled herself back into a standing position.

"Kitsune!" Lina called out again, desperately looking for her friend. A shadow appeared to her left and without hesitation she made way towards it. "Kitsune! Answer me damn it!" she screamed, as she reached for the shadowy figure. Kitsune could barely make out what the voice was saying through the wind. The noise was muffled and sounded worlds away. She had lost sight of Lina as soon as this tornado started. Kitsune tried to walk towards the sound, but it was hard to tell which direction it was coming from. All she could think about was finding Lina, or anyone for that matter. Lina had finally gotten close enough to tell who she was reaching for. Miroku stood in front of her, holding a hand over his eyes. He looked just as lost as she probably did. "Lina, thank Buddha you're alright," Miroku called when she appeared. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and continued to cover his eyes with his other arm. "Miroku, what is going on?" Lina asked, putting her mouth next to his ear so he could hear her over the raging wind. "Kagura's demon magic," he replied tightening his grip on her. "It's okay, I've got you now," Miroku added.

A few moments later the wind began to die down. "You all are so pathetic," Kagura's voice rang from above. She was now hovering over them on a giant feather. "You aren't even worth my time, but there is time for one more dance." "WINDSCAR!" Inuyasha bellowed interrupting Kagura. He sliced the air downward with his sword. The blade seemed to cut through the sky straight for the floating feather. The powerful energy landed right where the flying device was, but somehow Kagura avoided the attack completely. The feather was now to the left of where Inuyasha had just attacked. "Dance of the dead," was the last thing Naraku's minion said before she flew off in the distance. "What does that mean?" Lina asked the monk. "It means that we're in a lot of trouble," Miroku replied with a grim look up on his face. "Stay close to me," he added, taking his staff in both hands.

Just seconds later a horror movie scene laid out before them; the dead bodies started to come back to life. One by one they stood back up on their two feet. But this was no miracle because they had just been turned into the walking dead; zombies. And their instinct was to kill. Soon there was dozens of the undead upon them. Lina saw that Kitsune was surrounded by five of the horrible creatures. Not even considering listening to Miroku's advice, she started fighting her way towards her fiery haired friend. She was hoping that these were the same kind of Zombies that she had seen on TV because she was focusing on damaging their heads. Her knuckles where bleeding and she was only half-way to Kitsune.

Kitsune was surprised at how well she was handling herself considering everything that had just happened in the last fifteen minutes. She had just survived a hurricane, now she was trying to survive against an attack of Zombies. This is where her training with Inuyasha and Miroku really kicked in. Kitsune had no trouble dodging the sluggish attacks the undead were throwing at her. That was until one got lucky and knocked her down. "Kitsune, nooo!" Lina screamed as she watched the whole scene in what felt like slow motion. There was no way she would reach her in time. Koga had also been watching Kitsune, and let out a growl as he rushed towards her with his super speed. In no time at all he cleared out the area around her of Zombies. _She's safe _Lina and Koga thought as he picked Kitsune off the ground.

Kitsune looked up into her rescuer's eyes hoping he could see how thankful she was. He sat her down on her feet again with a look on his face that said "be more careful next time". The moment only lasted for a second and as Kitsune looked back down she saw a zombie inches behind Lina. The woman's mouth was agape and her dirty fingers were extremely close to gripping the corner of Lina's Kimono. "Lina, behind you!" Kitsune screamed just in time. Koga took his sword that he never used from his belt and tossed it to Lina. Lina dodged the beastly creature and grabbed the sword. In one fluid motion she removed the sword from its sheath, spun around, and sliced the zombie's head off with one, clean cut.

The head didn't dramatically slide off like Lina had seen in the movies; it just rolled off with the body slumping into a lifeless pile. Lina had to admit that it felt good; not that she wanted to kill people or anything, but the way she saw it was she was helping to put these people to their final resting place. A small scream that sounded like Kagome's caused Koga to run off, leaving Kitsune unprotected. She was exhausted and not being of much help so she sat down. Lina was busy slicing heads off like a pro, giving Kitsune the chance to look around. Sango was bashing zombie after zombie with her giant boomerang, Inuyasha was slicing them with his claws, and Miroku was fighting them off with his staff. Even Kirara was fighting, gnashing her teeth at the undead and swinging her large head around. "Kitsune pay attention!" Lina yelled. Kitsune turned around to see a little boy, possibly only 5 years old. He wasn't a boy anymore though, his eyes were white and his skin was a dark shade of purple. Kitsune could see that he wanted to kill her, but he was just so little she couldn't bring herself to do anything. "Kitsune!" Lina yelled. She knew her friend had a big heart, but she needed to finally get a taste of what they were in for on this adventure. Hearing Lina yell at her snapped Kitsune out of the haze her mind was in.

_This is a little boy…a poor little boy whose soul needs to be set free!_ Kitsune thought to herself. She looked around and saw a large rock on the ground. She grabbed it and with all of her strength, lunged herself at the boy, bashing his head to the ground. With one more hit to his head, she knew that he was dead. After she killed him it seemed as if the scene had finally grown completely silent. Lina ran over and helped her friend up. "We need to get you a weapon," Lina said, making Kitsune drop the rock that she clutched so tightly to. Kitsune mustered up a smile receiving one back from Lina. They each knew that the other one was fine.

"We need to bury these bodies properly so that they can finally rest in peace," Miroku stated looking at the slaughter-house that laid before him. "We can put them in a couple mass graves…at least all the pieces of them that is," he stated glancing at Lina's handy sword-work. Koga scoffed. "We don't have time for that, let's follow that bitch while her scent is still clear," Koga demanded. "We can't act like monsters about this! If we do not allow these innocent people to have peace then we are no better than Kagura!" Miroku snapped back. "He's right," Inuyasha stated quietly. He began to dig with his sharp claws and was eventually followed by an embarrassed looking Koga.

Just then Miroku's head shot up as he sensed something. "I sense a spirit here…you guys keep digging, I'll be back," Miroku said walking off. Lina, of course, couldn't let him go alone and in curiosity followed him, dragging Kitsune along. Miroku sensed the two girls' presence and was glad that they followed. He had a hunch that this spirit had something to do with them. "There has to be a shrine around here," Miroku said as they wondered around the castle ruins. Now that there were no demons or dead bodies Kitsune could finally see how this place was once beautiful. "Um…would we be looking for a shrine with a little ghost man coming out of it?" Lina asked interrupting Kitsune's deep thought. "Yes," Miroku answered. "Oh then I see it," Lina said pointing down an outside corridor that used to be a garden. They ran to the shrine and Kitsune could see what Lina was talking about.

Under what used to be this elaborate shrine was a small white spirit of an old man. Miroku sat down crossed legged in front of the spirit. The girls followed his every move. It wasn't every day that they saw a ghost. "May we have a word with you old man," Miroku said with a kind smile on his face. "What do you think I'm here for?" The old spirit snapped back. Clearly the afterlife had not been good for his attitude. "Yuuko, Naoko, I have been waiting for you for ages," he said sounding kinder this time. "M-my name is Kitsune and this is Lina," Kitsune said nervously. The ghost shook his head. "No, no you are Naoko," he said pointing to Kitsune, "and you, my dear, are Yuuko," he said pointing to Lina. "Can you tell us everything you know about our past lives?" Lina asked sweetly.

"Well…I guess that would be a good place to start. I worked for the ruler of the castle for 72 years as his head servant. The ruler of this castle was a kind and good one…but he had a demon problem. He heard of a family of demon slayers to the east and sent gifts in order for the family to send us their strongest warrior. To master's surprise, Yuuko arrived in the next few days. You were so young, but so strong. Master was worried one small girl wouldn't be enough, so he sent gifts to another family to the north. We were all shocked when Naoko arrived. Your family said you were the most virtuous of them all. Master paid the girls handsomely and allowed them to stay here in exchange for ridding the castle of demons. The girls became fast, close friends and I watched them grow to be fine demon slayers. Master even bought them specially designed weapons. Yuuko had Raitou (Lightning Sword) specially made for her and Naoko was given the honor of wielding Kensaki no Muchi (Whip of Blades). I don't know why I'm telling you, you should know all of this! Well anyway, life was truly good until that bastard Naraku ruined everything! He had heard of their strength from other demons. A fight ensued between the girls and Naraku for almost 24 straight hours. They had weakened him, but not enough. He proved to be too much of a match for the two young girls and he killed them in cold blood."

"Just killing them wasn't enough for that monster. He used the jewel shards to bring them back to life to be used as pawns, puppets in his own evil doings. From what I had heard, the strength of the sacred jewel shards allowed the girls to kill massive amounts of demons for Naraku. But once he got injured and needed the shards back he took them from Yuuko and Naoko, finally allowing their bodies to disintegrate. I knew that you two would eventually come back for vengeance. The pain he caused this castle was catastrophic; without you two, demons relentlessly attacked us and the pain Master had from losing you was too great. He sent out search parties but all we could find were your weapons. We brought them back and gave them a proper burial. It is so good to see you girls. You are just as beautiful as ever. Something about you has changed though…..you look…softer. It brings me such peace," the old man said.

Upon finishing his story, his spirit began to grow more translucent and within a matter of seconds he was gone."Be at peace old man," Miroku stated placing a peace charm on the shrine. Lina's whole demeanor had changed throughout the old man's story. She now had a better understanding of her goal in this feudal era and she had to admit that she felt sad. Sad for her old home and sad for her old self, but she was angry as well. Angry that a beast like Naraku has been getting away with his wrongdoings for so long. She clenched her fists in rage. She glanced at her friend and saw small tear stains on her cheeks. Seeing her raw emotion calmed Lina down a bit. Miroku placed his hand on Lina's thigh, seeing her angered look.

"Naraku has ruined many lives, this was just more of a reason we needed to defeat him," Miroku stated looking at the shrine. "We may not have been able to defeat him before, but we have help now. We will kill Naraku," Kitsune said, half to Lina and half to herself. "Guys, where the heck are you!? We're done!" the group heard Inuyasha yell. They gathered themselves off of the ground and made it back to the castle courtyard. There were only four large mounds for all of the villagers. "It was the least we could do," Miroku stated solemnly. Miroku proceeded to place peace charms on each mass-grave site. "It's a good thing I brought plenty of these," he said to himself.

"Hey guys! Look what we found while digging," Shippo called out in a joyful voice. Lina looked up to see Shippo running around with a plain black whip, tossing it back and forth. Kagome was holding a dirty looking sword that she had dug up from the ground. Lina looked over at Kitsune who was already running to her weapon. "Shippo, I think that's my weapon, Kensaki no Mushi," Kitsune said looking at the thin, weathered whip. _If that is my weapon I feel ripped off_ Kitsune thought to herself. "Really? But it has no spikes and it looks more like a toy," Shippo said not happy to have to give it up. "Lina, does that mean this is your sword?" Kagome said holding out the sword. "Psh, what are you going to do? Hit Naraku repeatedly in the head with a rusty blade while Kitsune ties an old whip around his neck?" Koga said smirking. "Yea, I thought you two were demon slayers, not little kids," Inuyasha said laughing. It was the first time him and Koga agreed on something, unless you count them both loving Kagome.

"What's your sword called, let me guess, Kuso no Tsurugi (Sword of Poop)?" Koga asked holding his sides. This sent him and Inuyasha flying into a rabid fit of laughter. "Idiots," Shippo murmured. Lina's eye twitched in irritation. She grabbed the sword from Kagome in attempts to beat the two idiots to death with the blunt, rusty blade. Instead, when she grabbed the blade she felt it pulse in her hands. The thin blade thickened into a beautifully sharp blade and a yellow aura began pulsating around it. It mesmerized Lina and immediately changed the looks on Inuyasha and Koga's faces. This is Raitou, I don't think you three have made a proper acquaintance yet," Lina said taking a step towards Inuyasha and Koga. "Psh, so what, your sword looks cooler now, big deal," Inuyasha said. He tried to sound tough but Lina could hear his voice waver. She smirked and wielded her sword towards Inuyasha's direction.

No one expected it, but a bright yellow stream of electrical energy blasted out of the tip of the sword and headed straight for Inuyasha. He barely dodged the strike, but Lina could see a piece of his hair was singed off. "Didn't know _that_ was going to happen," Lina said staring at her weapon. "How DARE you use your weapon on me when you don't even know how it works!?" Inuyasha yelled with his hands balled up in fists, making Lina laugh.

"Aren't you going to pick yours up Kitsune," Lina asked ignoring Inuyasha's displays. "I don't know…what if it doesn't work?" Kitsune said sounding unsure. "You'll never know unless you try," Kagome said picking up the whip. Kitsune took it lightly from Kagome's hand and it instantly began to vibrate. Beginning from the handle and extending all the way to the tip, the whip began to transform. It became larger, longer, and covered in tiny spikes. It looked like it should be too heavy to hold, but to Kitsune's surprise, it felt light in her hands. "Remind me to never make you angry," Miroku said with a smile on his face. After fooling around with their weapons for a little while the group snooped around for more clues as to Naraku's whereabouts.

"I can't smell anything besides death," Koga said covering his nose. "Naraku must have sent Kagura to distract us so that they would never find their weapons," Inuyasha said. "Or find out about their past lives," Miroku said. Sango looked at Miroku curiously. "When did you find out about their past lives?" she asked quizzically. Miroku proceeded to inform the whole group of their experience with the spirit. "Good…now we know something Naraku obviously didn't want us to know," Inuyasha said in a low growl.

"Inuyasha! The Bone Eater's well…I feel it," Kagome said interrupting everyone's search. Kitsune looked over at Kagome with wide eyes. _Does this mean we can finally go home?_ she thought excitedly to herself. "Please Inuyasha can we go!?" Kitsune said jumping up. "We will be much more prepared to defeat Naraku and we can stay for much longer, I promise," Kitsune pleaded. Inuyasha scoffed at her but couldn't say no. "We will just have to gather our clues when we get to the well. Then we will go from there," Inuyasha said taking the lead. As if their weapons knew they weren't needed anymore, they reverted to their previous condition. "How cool," Lina said with a big smile on her face. She was too in love with her new weapon to even care that they had a long trip back in store for them.


	5. Chapter 5: Don't Go Alone

By the time the group returned to the village everyone was physically and mentally exhausted. The only audible sounds were cricket chirps and the yawns of the tired travelers. "Are you sure you two don't want to wait until the morning; it is just so late," Miroku said yawning yet again. "We're night owls Miroku," Kitsune said. She wanted to get home now more than ever. "Aren't you coming with us Kagome?" Lina asked as her and Kitsune prepared to jump into the glowing well. "I guess I could say hi to everyone, sure I'll come," Kagome said stepping over the edge.

Everyone waved goodbye and the girls jumped down deep into the never ending well. "And just like that I'm left with mutt-face, and all the cute girls are gone," Koga said walking off to the campsite they had previously used.

"We need to put some stairs in the bottom of here," Kitsune grumbled as she tried for the tenth time to jump out of the well. "You just need longer legs!" Lina called helping her friend out. "So we will meet you back here in a couple hours?" the girls asked Kagome. "Oh take all the time you need…this is my house after all," Kagome said pointing to the house next the shrine the well was located in. The girls first decided to go to Lina's house because it was closest.

"Let's hope my mom is fast asleep," Lina said quietly unlocking her door. All the lights in the house were off and her mom's door was shut tight. Lina immediately began throwing her stuff in a back pack. She stuffed ten pairs of underwear, two shirts, and a couple pairs of shorts deep into the bag. She also put in her favorite hair-bow and a book she was currently reading. "Don't forget you bathing suit," Kitsune pointed out. Even with all of her stuff in it, the backpack was barely full. "We will just use the one backpack for both of our stuff and we'll take turns carrying it," Lina said as she zipped it up.

She looked around for something to change into. She loved how the kimono looked and felt on her, but it was a little blah for her taste. She got an idea and opened her closet to reveal a beautiful kimono hanging up. "The kimono your grandma got you!" Kitsune said excitedly. Lina changed into the soft pink and red kimono that she had always wanted to wear but never got the chance. "It suits you so perfectly," Kitsune said smiling. Once she was ready Lina grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. On it she wrote:

Mom,

Joined a gang with Kitsune for the summer. Don't worry, we are fine. Can't call; no cell phones allowed. I am sorry; we have to do this. Don't be upset, this is for the best; promise.

Love You,

Lina

She placed the letter on her refrigerator and the two slunk back out into the night. It was a good thing that Kitsune didn't live that far away because the two didn't have any other mode of transportation other than walking.

Kitsune carefully walked into her house only to see that her dogs were the only ones home. Her brother and her mom were both out. _At 1 a.m., what kind of party animals do I live with?_ she thought to herself shaking her head. At least they didn't have to whisper. She ran into her room and grabbed the same necessities as Lina, except she also packed her iPod and small, portable speakers. "We're gonna party feudal era style," she said to Lina who just laughed.

Kitsune changed into long khaki shorts and a red t-shirt. She also grabbed a tooth brush and an extra one for Lina who forgot hers. She grabbed a bar of soap and two wash cloths as well. Just because they were in the feudal era didn't mean they had to smell like it. She then wrote the same note that Lina wrote except changed the word "gang" to the word "club". On their way out of the door Kitsune saw her dog chewing on a ball and it reminded her of Inuyasha. "We should bring everyone back something," Lina said reading Kitsune's mind.

They grabbed a lollipop for Shippo, a ball for Inuyasha, and a squeaky toy for Koga. Lina snickered as she packed a small box of tampons to give to Sango. "Now what should we get for Miroku?" Lina thought out loud. "Oh!" Kitsune shouted running into her brother's room. She reached under the bed and found a small box filled with pornographic magazines. "I really don't want to know how you knew those were there," Lina said in disgust. Kitsune grabbed one and shoved it in the backpack. Lina had to admit…it was the perfect gift for the perverted monk.

They finally made it back to the well to see Kagome sitting on the edge. "What took you guys so long?" she said in a teasing tone. "Well, we're ready now," Lina said with a big smile on her face. "Let's go," Kitsune added. The three of them jumped into the Bone Eater's well, back into the feudal era with a certain eagerness that only comes with excitement.

When the girls returned the only thing they could think of was sleep. They made their way back to the campsite in silence. Everyone was lounging around a fire that was barely still burning. "You guys came back!" Shippo exclaimed. He got out of his sleeping bag and ran towards the three girls with a giant smile on his face. "Of course, why wouldn't we?" Lina questioned, putting the backpack down next to the small fox demon. "Inuyasha said that you guys wouldn't. He said that you guys were too comfortable in your own time, and you wouldn't come back to help us." Shippo explained, looking back and forth between Kitsune and Lina.

Inuyasha! Why would you even say something like that," Kagome stated. She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "I just said what everyone else was thinking," he simply replied. Inuyasha was laying on the bare ground with his hands under his head while he looked at the clear night sky. "I was thinking it," Koga said, adding to Inuyasha's argument. _When did they start agreeing with each other?_ Lina and Kitsune thought annoyed by this new development. "But we are very grateful that you both came back," Miroku interjected. He stood up from sitting on a log that had been placed around the fire.

Without another word, he took Kitsune's hand and looked deep into her eyes. Shock was the apparent emotion Kitsune was feeling. Her face said it all. Lina was about to pull her friend into the safety of her arms when Miroku started saying: "We need you..." he began, but his sentence was interrupted by an angry Sango. She had taken her boomerang and hit the monk over the head with it. "Owwy, Sango. What was that for? I was just going to say: we need you to get some more fire wood for the night," Miroku stated trying to explain himself. He rubbed the area of his head that had made contact with the giant, wooden boomerang. Kitsune had taken a step back as soon as her hand was free from the perverted monk's.

She looked over to her friend, hoping Lina wasn't upset at her. To her surprise, Lina was trying to hold back a laugh. "Yeah, Kitsune. Go get some fire wood," she said, bursting into a fit of laughter. "Screw you, I'm tired and going bed," she replied with a smile. "Why don't you do it, Koga," Kitsune added, unfolding a blanket that she was going to sleep on. "You want some fire wood? Here's your fire wood," the wolf demon growled. He picked up the log that Miroku had been sitting on and threw it into the fire pit. The orange glow grew greatly as it was revived from near death. For the rest of the night, everyone remained quiet, because soon, after all the commotion, they fell asleep.

The sun had been in the sky for less than thirty minutes and Lina could already hear the rustle of someone stirring near her. She rubbed her eyes and scanned the campsite. It seemed like everyone was still sleeping. She studied the rise and fall of her friend's chest. Lina had always found peace in Kitsune's presence. And this moment was no exception. Lina let out a sigh, wishing she could fall back to sleep, but it was hopeless. She was completely awake now. Sitting up, she stretched out her limbs_ I don't think I'll ever get used to sleeping on the ground _Lina thought rubbing a kink out her neck.

Looking over at the sleeping bodies again she noticed Miroku and Sango sleeping every close to each other. _HE hits on Kitsune and me, but he has a girlfriend. _That thought should have made Lina less attracted to the monk, but it sadly didn't. There was something about him that she couldn't explain. Letting out another sigh she stood up. Already knowing that today was going to be a long day, she decided to go ahead and take a bath while everyone was still sleeping. Lina had recalled seeing a river on the walk back towards the Bone Eater's well yesterday.

Being as quiet as she could, the warrior gathered: a towel, soap, her tooth brush, tooth paste, a hair brush, and her favorite hair bow. Without wasting anytime she made her way north. The forest seemed calm and safe. Bird songs filled the air. Lina heard a bush rustle to her right, but wrote it off as a rabbit playing in the undergrowth. It was about a ten minute walk before she could hear the trickling of water. Scanning the area around her for any signs of peeping Toms, she finally decided it was safe to strip down. Lina tested the water with her big toe and found it tolerable. She waded into the waist deep water and began to wash herself.

Kitsune woke up to someone gently shaking her. "I'm up, I'm up!" she yawned. Shippo stood before her. "What's up little man? Did you have a bad dream? You can sleep with me if you want," Kitsune yawned again. She rubbed her eyes realizing hazily that it was morning already. _Crap, I don't wanna get up yet. I need my beauty sleep. _"No, dumb-y, I didn't have a bad dream. I'm waking you up because Lina is gone," the fox demon replied with some attitude. "And some of her stuff is gone too," Shippo added. He pointed to the backpack that Lina and she had been sharing.

"What the hell are you guys talking about this early?" Inuyasha called. He scratched behind his ear looking annoyed. "Lina's gone," Shippo replied with no hesitation. "What do you mean she's gone, pipsqueak?" Koga questioned. He was now sitting up stretching his arms. Kitsune couldn't help but notice how well toned his muscles were. _He's some kind of wolf-demon God, _she thought. She could feel her cheeks heating up. "Hey, don't call me pipsqueak!" Shippo demanded. "And I mean, she's not here; her stuff is gone," he added, folding his arms. "Come on guys, you can't possibly think she went home," Kitsune stated breaking out of her Koga thoughts. Kagome was now awake as well. "She wouldn't leave Kitsune here by herself," Kagome stated letting out a long, deep yawn. _She would have at least told her._

Kitsune grabbed the bag and looked over the contents. Most of Lina's stuff was still inside. The only missing things were the bathing materials. "Shippo, you're over reacting," she sighed with relief. She knew her friend wouldn't leave her, but it was nice to see proof. "Lina's just taking a bath." Kitsune added. She put the pack down and saw the realization spread over Inuyasha, Koga, and Shippo's faces. "You guys should give Lina more credit than that," Miroku stated simply. He had woken up towards the beginning of the discussion. "Miroku's right. You all should be ashamed of yourselves," Sango chimed in. Kitsune might not be Sango's biggest fan, but she nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad that's settled and all, but we should start packing up and head out soon," Koga said. He stood up and patted the dust off of himself. "If we leave soon, we could make it to the next village by night fall," Kagome added, rolling up her sleeping bag. "You're never this eager to leave, Kagome," Miroku smiled. "It's because she wants to sleep at an inn tonight," Inuyasha mumbled. "Shut up, Inuyasha. I hate sleeping out on the ground every night, and you know it. So leave me alone," she huffed. She crossed her arms over her chest. "It's okay, I'll make sure we stay at an inn tonight," Koga told Kagome. He rushed to her side, taking her hand in his.

Kitsune averted her eyes. She hated to admit it, but she was jealous of Kagome. She had two handsome guys after her heart. And what did she have? She had…Shippo? No, Kitsune didn't even have Shippo because he was under Kagome's spell as well. Kagome was sweet and caring, so Kitsune could understand it. But it was getting a little old. "Get your dirty wolf paws off…" Inuyasha started. His ears twitched while he sniffed the air. "Did you hear that," Koga asked. Inuyasha nodded stiffly. "What is it?" Miroku questioned.

The monk picked up his staff, sensing something was wrong. "A scream, Lina's scream," Koga whispered. "I smell blood," Inuyasha added. At this point Kitsune didn't understand why they were all just standing there. "Let's go! She needs our help!" she cried franticly. Without another word they were all on the move. Kagome hopped on Inuyasha's back, Miroku, Shippo, and Sango were on Kirara's back. Kistune grabbed Kensaki no Muchi and Raitou and begun running towards the river. She was grateful when Koga picked her up bridal style and continued running as fast as he could.

Lina was kicking herself when she realized she had left Raitou back at the campsite. When she had first started washing herself, everything had seemed fine. But little did she know that she was being followed the whole time. Lina had been rinsing out her hair when she finally sensed the threat. But it was already too late. When she turned around she found a man standing where her kimono laid. With a bow and arrow in hand, he smiled down at Lina. "Sorry miss, but this will fetch a pretty penny in the market place," the intruder stated. He bent down and picked up the soft pink and red material.

"No please, my grandmother gave me that," Lina cried out. She started towards the shore. "Take one more step, and I will shoot you with this here arrow," the man warned. Lina had always been thick headed and ignored his warning completely. She continued to exit the water. Her torso was sticking out of the waves. That man was about to take something that was very precious to her, so the last thing on her mind was how she was completely and utterly naked. The thief did exactly what he threatened. He drew back the string and aimed at Lina's chest. What seemed to be an eternity, really happened in seconds. Lina let out a scream as she tried her damnedest to avoid the attack. But she wasn't quick enough. A stinging, throbbing sensation filled her body. Even though she could feel her blood leaving her body, she continued towards the man who had just shot her.

"You're one tough bitch, but you'll never catch up to me with a wound like that," he snickered, taking off into the forest. _Damn it. _Lina thought as she finally made it to shore. She looked at her left shoulder where there was an arrow sticking out of her. At least the thief was a bad shot. She could have died instantly if he had hit her heart. Blood was dripping down her wet arm. Lina fought back the feeling of passing out and grabbed her towel. She was going after this asshole. That kimono had be the last gift her grandmother had given her before she died last year.

Lina wrapped the soft cloth around her wet, naked body and took off in the direction the man had taken. Making sure to keep pressure on the wound she sprinted through the dense forest. But it wasn't long until Lina couldn't take another step. The blood loss was taking a bigger toll on her than she would have liked to admit. Resting her back against the biggest oak in the area, she looked down at the gore that was her shoulder.

Lina couldn't help but let out a sob. She was bleeding out and she had lost her most prized possession. If there was a time to give up, it was now. She sat down under the canopy of vibrant green leaves. She thought about how everything would have turned out if she had woken up Kitsune to go bathe with her. But Lina discarded that thought immediately. It was best that Kitsune hadn't been there. All that mattered was her safety. Lina had always told Kitsune she would take a bullet for her if it came down to it. She was the only person who accepted her for her.

As she thought about her friend, Lina decided that she couldn't give up. Not now, not when they hadn't even started their destiny together. She would not let it end like this. She ripped a strand of cloth from her towel and laid it across her lap. Lina took a deep breath as she gripped the arrow shaft sticking out her back.

"Are we getting close?" Kitsune asked anxiously. "Yeah, the smell of her blood is getting stronger," Inuyasha replied. He picked up his pace and Koga followed his example. "Can you see anything, Miroku?" Kitsune yelled up at the flying Kirara. "Not yet," he called back. At this point she was about to have a heart attack. _Hold on, Lina. I'm on my way. _Kitsune thought gripping the weapons she held in her hands even harder. "She'll be alright, she's tough," Koga comforted her. And the funny thing was that it worked. He was right, Lina was one of the toughest people she knew.

It was only few moments before Miroku spotted something. "There's someone to the east," he told the group. It didn't take long for Inuyasha and Koga to catch up to the figure. When they got close enough, they could tell it was Lina. The crazy part was she was still jogging through the underbrush and trees. She had nothing on but a bloodied towel. "Lina!" Kitsune yelled, jumping out of Koga's arms. She ran to her friend, glad she was still alive. "What the hell happened to you?" she questioned. Kitsune scanned Lina head to toe. The nearly naked woman before her had a wound on her shoulder with a piece of towel tied around it. "I had to stop the bleeding if I wanted to keep going," Lina explained.

Kitsune then noticed that she was holding an arrow in her opposite hand. "I wanted to keep it as a souvenir," she explained again with a smile. At that moment she knew Lina was going to be just fine. "I'm glad you're alright," Kitsune smiled. "Me too," her friend smiled back. "Who did this to you?" Miroku asked, interrupting the touching moment. The look on his face was one of pure anger. "A man…he stole my kimono," Lina replied. Tears welled up in her eyes. "I promise, Lina, we will find this man." The monk wrapped his arms gently around her. Kitsune realized that he really meant what he was saying.

In this moment he wasn't the perverted monk that she had come to know, he was someone who also cared about her friend almost as much as she did. "And we'll get your kimono back," Kitsune added, knowing how much it meant to Lina. Letting go, Miroku asked Lina which way the man had run off in. She pointed north-east. "How convenient. That's where the village we need to travel to is," Inuyasha stated.


	6. Chapter 6: Healing

"What are we going to do about Lina? Look at her, she gushing. We can't just keep going!" Kitsune protested. "Kitsune, we have to keep going. I don't want him to sell my kimono before we get there. I will be fine," Lina said giving her worried friend a weak smile. The weakness in her smile only made Kitsune feel worse. "Well, let's get some clothes on you at least," Kitsune said smiling. She gave Lina underwear, shorts, and a loose t-shirt to change into. Everyone politely turned around to let her change.

"We can lay her on Kirara, Inuyasha can take Kagome, and Koga can take Kitsune," Miroku said. "The sooner we get there, the sooner we can catch that guy and treat Lina's wounds, but we have to hurry!" he yelled picking Lina up in his arms. It soothed her to hear the concern in his voice. _He does care about me_ she thought smiling softly. Her body was tired and every muscle ached. She was too weak to move anymore and was grateful for Miroku picking her up. Kirara bent down so the monk could set Lina up on the demons back. He jumped up on Kirara and settled behind Lina; this allowed her to lean back and rest her body against the monk. She was surprised to realize how comfortable he was; he was soft but firm at the same time.

Seeing Lina on Miroku made Kitsune feel a little better knowing that she was safe, but she still had a worried look on her face. "Don't worry, I can run as fast as Kirara can fly, if not faster. You won't be away from her for a second," Koga said picking Kitsune up. She was amazed at how intense he sounded. Kitsune just nodded in response. "Let's go!" she yelled, signaling for the group to move. It was a good thing that the village wasn't very far away. They got there in what felt like five minutes. Nothing was terribly far in this era because it would take too long for anyone to get anywhere. _Why can't we travel like this all the time?_ she thought to herself.

Once Kirara landed Miroku gently picked Lina up again. She had her eyes closed but was not sleeping; she was in too much pain to sleep. "We need to find a healer immediately," Miroku said to Kitsune as he started walking off into the main part of the village. Kitsune followed but glanced back in enough time to see Sango looking pissed off. "We'll take care of that asshole," Inuyasha said with a smirk on his face that was almost creepy. He, Koga, Shippo, and Kagome walked off to the market of the village. "Hey guys! Let me know when you catch him!" Kitsune yelled after them, receiving only a wave from Inuyasha.

Kitsune followed Miroku around the village. He was practically running and her short little legs could barely keep up. Plus Lina's sword kept smacking her in the thigh, already creating a slight bruise. "Yes there is a medicine woman here," Kitsune finally heard a young boy say. Miroku ran into the small hut that was dimly lit. It smelled like herbs and old blood but it was the only option they had. The young boy aided a much older woman over to wear Miroku had laid Lina down. She looked at least 100 years old to Kitsune. Her white hair was in a tight bun and she was only 5 foot tall. Without saying a word she sat down cross-legged by Lina's body. The young boy brought a basket of herbs, bandages, and other supplies.

The old lady pulled out an odd pipe that had a stream of smoke coming out of it. "Here child…inhale this gently. It will ease the pain," she said putting the pipe up to Lina's lips who obliged eagerly. _It must be some kind of opium_ Kitsune thought remembering the old stories of old Japanese ladies getting high on the natural pain killer. It was completely outlawed in their future era. The old lady removed Lina's shirt gently and covered her breasts with a cloth. Thankfully Miroku was glancing out of the hut entrance…maybe he was looking for the man that did this. The medicine woman made a compress of herbs and some kind of oil. She pushed it into Lina's wound gently. "This should help her to heal. None of her vitals were hit, but she has lost a lot of blood," the old woman stated quietly. She pounded some dry herbs in a small cup and mixed it with water. "This should help revive you," she whispered to Lina as she lifted the cup to Lina's lips. "Now all we can do is pray while she rests," the old woman stated. Miroku immediately pulled his rosary off of his hand that contained the wind tunnel. He placed his two hands together and closed his eyes. _We don't need to pray…she's going to be just fine_ Kitsune told herself finally able to relax.

"Kitsune they found him!" she heard Shippo yelling. Before Lina could fuss, Kitsune jumped up and ran towards the direction Shippo yelled from. She turned a corner into the village market and saw Inuyasha and Koga standing over a large man who was crumpled on the floor in a cowardly position. Koga was cracking his knuckles with a large smile on his face. "Please….please don't hurt me! Here, have the kimono, I didn't sell it," the man pleaded shaking. Shippo grabbed the kimono quickly and ran off towards the hut where Lina laid in recovery. Kitsune shoved her way in front of the man. It made her sick to her stomach to look at his ugly face. She grabbed his collar, pulling his face close to hers.

"You made a huge mistake buddy," she growled. She pulled her arm back, her hand clenched in a tight fist. Her knuckles connected with the man's nose with such power that his nose practically blew up, squirting blood onto Kitsune's hand. She stood up and walked to Kagome who looked shocked. "Give me one of your arrows please," Kitsune stated politely. Kagome complied quickly. Kitsune walked back to the man who was holding his nose. "You think it's cool to shoot people with arrows you bastard? Well, I believe in an eye for an eye," Kitsune said forcing Kagome's arrow deep into the man's shoulder. He let out a shrill scream. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he yelled rolling onto the ground. "Lina's more of a man than you, you coward," Inuyasha said spitting on the ground near the man who was writhing. Kitsune turned around and began walking back to Lina.

"We're not going to kill him?" Koga asked in disbelief. Kitsune flashed him a quick smile. "I got all the vengeance I needed, plus, my friend needs me," she said walking away. She didn't hear any more noises as she walked away, signaling that her friends were following her rather than killing the man. It wasn't that she didn't want to kill him, she just knew that he would suffer more this way.

The last thing Lina remembered was inhaling something foul tasting from a pipe. _Whatever that shit was, it was strong_ she thought. Her shoulder felt numb, but at least it didn't hurt. She saw that it was dark in the room she was in and looked down to see her chest wrapped with tight, white bandages. She leaned up, rustling the blanket that covered her. "Lina, you shouldn't try to sit up yet." She couldn't see him but knew the voice was Miroku's. "I'm fine Miroku, don't worry. Where are the others?" "They went to the inn across the street, well except for Koga, they wouldn't let him in. I guess his tribe isn't far from here and the villagers are afraid of him. Kitsune didn't want to go but I told her I would stay with you," Miroku said quietly.

She was glad that he couldn't see her because she knew she would be blushing. "Y-you didn't see anything did you?" Lina asked referring to her body. "Of course not, it wouldn't be right," Miroku said. She could finally see the outline of his face and could tell by his tone that he was smiling. "Kitsune got your kimono back, it's lying next to you for when you want to put it back on. I heard she really hurt that guy," Miroku said chuckling. Lina chuckled, she knew that her friend was secretly a badass. It actually made her wound hurt less thinking of her friend brutally beating her attacker.

"Lina…I just wanted to say that I admire you," Miroku said out of nowhere. Lina was confused. "Why would you admire me? I'm nothing special," she whispered quietly. Miroku sighed. He actually sounded irritated. "Why would you say something like that? You are strong and resilient and fearless. I've seen you, you don't think twice about anything. Granted, that's how you got yourself shot with an arrow, leaving without telling anyone. But it makes you an amazing warrior, and an even better friend," Miroku said. Lina didn't know what to say…she had never heard someone be so nice to her before. "Why are you so kind to me Miroku?" she asked after sitting in silence for a while. "Because I sense the kindness in your heart," he said placing his hand on top of hers. She looked at his face and his eyes looked almost blue in the moonlight. This wasn't his typical perverted stare, it was different. Lina didn't think twice and despite the pain she felt from moving, she scooted closer to him.

Never breaking eye contact, Miroku gently placed his hand on Lina's cheek. He lowered his face to hers. She could feel his soft breath on her mouth. He smelled like clean linens and a fresh, cool breeze. It was soothing her to her core. Miroku gently pressed his cool lips to hers, but only for a quick second. Her eyes were closed and she had to admit that she was disappointed that he pulled away.

"Sango, no!" he yelled as he got up and ran out of the hut. _Oh shit…Sango!_ Lina threw her hand to her head. Miroku's girlfriend must have walked in to check on Miroku just to see the two in some romantic was Lina even doing to herself? She knew Miroku was in a relationship and still allowed herself to get involved with a man she barely knew who was currently involved with someone. She laid back down with a sigh. She felt like a horrible person, but couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. _It definitely counts as a kiss_ she told herself. She had such mixed feelings of excitement and self-loathing; it was giving her a headache. She could hear faint harsh words in the distance being shared by Miroku and Sango. She rolled on to her side and shoved a part of the blanket over her head to stifle the noises. After what felt like an hour she was finally able to fall back asleep.

Kitsune sat in the medicine woman's hut changing Lina's bandages. The sun was barely coming out in the early morning and the group was already growing restless. "So what's our next move?" Inuyasha asked, not sounding like he expected an answer. He was sitting cross-legged in the entrance of the hut. "We don't have to slow down because of me," Lina stated. "Oh yes we do," Kitsune said pulling the bandage extra tight so Lina would know she was serious. "Jeeze, fine mom," Lina said tugging on the tight bandage. "I really do feel fine though. I think we just need to find out our game plan and go for it. Maybe someone in the village has heard something about Naraku," Lina said. This made the bored Inuyasha jump up.

"Great, I'll go now!" he said as he began to walk away. "Wait Inuyasha, let's all go as a group," Kagome commanded. "Speaking of a group, has anyone seen Sango and Kirara lately?" Shippo asked just noticing that the demon slayer had been gone all morning. Miroku sighed. "I guess I should tell you guys now. Her and I got into a little spat last night about nothing important and she said she wanted to go back to the village to Lady Kaede and gather her thoughts," Miroku said sounding a little too casual. Lina couldn't help but feel embarrassed. She was thankful that she wasn't facing anyone or else they would be able to see her guilty expression. "Oh no, Sango!" Kagome stated worrying about her friend. "What did you do this time you lecher?" Inuyasha asked with a laugh in his voice. "Don't worry Kagome, she's as tough as nails and she won't be in any danger. She should be fine soon," Miroku stated sounding like he wanted to change the subject. Kitsune thought that it was a little suspicious that Sango and Miroku got into a fight the same night that she caught Sango looking at Lina so angrily. There was no doubt that this had something to do with Miroku's obvious feelings for Lina.

Kitsune felt bad that she had nothing to offer the old lady for her amazing help. Miroku had placed some protection charms on her hut walls, but she didn't feel like that was enough. An idea popped into her head and she grabbed hers and Lina's backpack. She took the box of tampons that they were going to give Sango as a joke, since it wasn't like they were going to give them to her now. Kitsune unwrapped all of them, placing the trash in her backpack. "Excuse me…I would like to offer you these as thanks. They soak up blood much better than cloths you use and you can use them for nose bleeds," she said thinking back to the man's nose she had busted. "What kind of sorcery is this?" she said taking the tampons. "No sorcery…just something new that will be of help," Kitsune said smiling. Lina couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the old woman with a handful of tampons.

The sight reminded her of the other gifts they had brought for everyone. "We have gifts for everyone from our era," she said smiling. Shippo became overly excited and ran towards Lina eagerly. "Shippo this is a lollipop. It is hard-candy that you lick," Lina said smiling as she watched the young demon run off with his prize. "Inuyasha, you get this ball," Lina said tossing the tennis ball out of the hut opening. Inuyasha ran off to go catch it making Kagome laugh. "Fetch boy," she said making the girls laugh with her. "Koga, this is a squeaky toy," Kitsune said throwing the toy into Koga's hand. "A toy!?" Koga said holding it out like it was poisonous. "I mean…it's a training device…for…agility," Kitsune said making something up. Koga looked more interested in the squeaky toy and closed his fist over it. He threw the toy in the air in horror as it squeaked. Kitsune and Lina almost died laughing. "It hurts, it hurts so much!" Lina said holding her sides. "What do I get," Miroku said smiling. Kitsune immediately blushed. "You give it to him," she said handing Lina the bag. "Um, Miroku, we brought you a porno magazine," Lina said clearing her throat. Kagome gasped blushing as well. "What the hell is that?" Inuyasha said walking back into the hut with his ball. "It is a collection of pictures of naked women in provocative poses," Lina stated fearlessly removing the magazine from the backpack. In a flash Miroku snatched it and put it in the inner pocket of his robe. "Ehem...thank you Lina…well let's move on," Miroku stated clearing his throat.

The group all got up and began to walk around the village to the market. To Kitsune's surprise they didn't see the man that attacked Lina creeping around the market. Koga approached a group of cute girls. "Excuse me ladies," he started, his voice oozing with sex appeal. Kitsune scoffed at his display, crossing her arms over her chest. "Maybe you can help us, we are looking for a demon named Naraku," Koga asked leaning into the group of girls. "Demon!" they shrieked running away leaving Koga scratching his head. The whole group stifled a laugh. "That only works when I do it," Miroku stated bluntly. "Way to get some clues stupid, you scared them away!" Inuyasha snapped at Koga. "Hey, who are you calling stupid!?" Koga growled whirling around towards Inuyasha. _So much for them getting along_ Lina thought shaking her head sadly at their display. "You couldn't get those girls and you sure as hell couldn't get Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled smiling smugly. "Hey you watch your mouth mutt-face before I bash it in! How dare you speak for Kagome, she has her own voice!" Koga yelled balling his fists up.

"She'll never love you Koga, or else she would be with you and not me," Inuyasha said fiercely. "How did this turn into an argument about me?" Kagome asked holding her hands up in surrender. Koga snarled at Inuyasha and ran to Kagome. "Tell that mutt he doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. Tell him me and you are going to be together one day!" Koga said grabbing her hand. "Koga…Koga I don't think so," Kagome said almost too quietly for anyone else to hear. Koga's eyes dropped as he dropped her hand. His gaze turned cold and his voice deepened. "I don't see why I'm still needed here then," he said with a low, dark voice. "You all can go rot in hell!" he snarled and in a rush of wind he disappeared. "What just happened?" Shippo asked. No one could provide him with an answer.


	7. Chapter 7: What Lies Ahead

The group sat without making a sound. Everyone was replaying all of the previous events in their heads and it didn't seem right to talk as if nothing had happened. A small voice interrupted the group's silence. "Did you guys say Naraku, as in the powerful demon?" a teenage boy said nervously. "Yes…why have you heard of him!?" Inuyasha asked loudly scaring the boy. "Well, only rumors. I heard he had his demons take control of a castle to the north on Mount Hotarubi," the boy whimpered.

"Who did you hear it from if you don't mind me asking," Kagome said in a much gentler voice. "The man that comes here to sell his sheep at market told me that many fearsome demons have been picking off his sheep when he lets them out to pasture. He tells me horrible things happen to anyone that goes near the castle," the boy stated.

"That's where we have to go then," Miroku stated simply earning a nod from the rest of the group. "Thank you so much," Kagome said to the boy as the group walked to the outskirts of the village. "Let's take a minute to think about our plan…this is important and we can't go in there blindly if it's as bad as the boy was saying," Miroku said sitting down on the grass. It still seemed as if no one wanted to say anything.

"We need Koga for this," Miroku stated. It was an obvious statement that no one else wanted to make. "We also need Sango for this but you chased her off," Inuyasha said back, his voice dripping with attitude. "I chased her off, not Miroku," Lina interjected making everyone look at her with confused expressions.

Everyone was mentally exhausted at this point and taking it out on one another. "Inuyasha, don't be cruel," Kagome said sternly. "We need all the help we can get and the worst thing we can do is go at each other's' throats," Kagome said calmly.

Kitsune, who hadn't said a word in quite a while, pulled Lina aside. "We need to get Koga. I'm going after him," Kitsune said with her eyes narrowed in determination. "Well..we're going with you then," Lina stated simply. Kitsune expected her to argue. No one wants their friend going into danger by themselves, but all they had been doing since they fell into the Bone Eater's well was expose themselves to danger.

"Koga's not going to listen to just anyone. He would want to hear from Kagome the most, but there's no way Inuyasha is going to let her go. You guys need to start the journey up to the castle and with Koga's speed he can carry only one person. We will meet you guys before there's any real danger. Plus he even said earlier that his tribe was close to here," Kitsune said convincingly. "I can't let you do this Kitsune, not without me!" Lina said with a plea in her eyes.

Kitsune smiled, "I have to do this Lina. You need to conserve your strength and you can't leave Miroku alone now. I will see you again in no time," Kitsune said winking. Lina knew there was no way she could talk her friend out of it. She let out a deep sigh. "Ok you crazy bitch…just be careful," she said pulling Kitsune into a death-vice hug.

The two walked back to the group. "I'm leaving to go get Koga…by myself. Don't argue because I've made up my mind. If I leave now I will make it to his tribe, I just need to get pointed in the right direction," Kitsune said with her arms crossed. Everyone looked at her with large eyes. "The hell you are!" Inuyasha yelled jumping up. "We don't need him and you're gonna get killed by yourself!" Kitsune smiled knowing that that was the way Inuyasha showed he cared.

"Kagome, which way should I head? I'm losing daylight," Kitsune said with her hands on her hips. Inuyasha ran over to Kitsune with his fists out. "If you leave to go get Koga I'll kick you square in your," "SIT BOY," Kagome shouted before Inuyasha could finish his sentence. Inuyasha's face smashed into the ground, his fingers twitching. "Just head east and Kitsune…please be careful," Kagome said hugging Kitsune tightly. Everyone said their goodbyes which made Kitsune feel as if she was never coming back. She thought she even saw Lina shed a tear.

Kitsune stared east as she walked through the thicket of the woods. _How far could he really have gotten by now?_ She thought to herself. The day was nice and the hot sun was blocked by the thicket of the trees. It felt like she had been walking for an hour or maybe over that. The birds were chirping and she had to admit that she wasn't scared at all…yet. She took a step while staring up at a singing bird. A high pitch squeak sounded out of nowhere that made her heart jump into her throat.

She looked down to find the cause of the noise and saw the squeaky-toy that she had given to Koga. She tried hard not to let it upset her that he threw it away. At least she could bring it back to him and if she found it then she was on the right path. She sensed that she was close and looked up to see where the sun was in the sky. When she looked up she felt the ground disappear beneath her and she fell down into a dark hole. She fell hard to the bottom of the dark pit, landing on her ankle.

She needed to learn how to stop looking up when she was walking. "Shit!" Kitsune yelled out half from fear and half from pain. She must have fallen into someone's large pit-fall trap. She looked around and let out a scream. Next to her was a deer impaled on a large wooden spike at the bottom of the pit. Its eyes were wide open staring at her. Flies flew around its mouth, landing on its nose; it was quite the gruesome scene. If she had fallen a few more inches to the right she would be impaled along with her deer friend.

_I've gotta get out of here_ Kitsune thought as she tried to stand up. The pain from her ankle was too much and she quickly fell back down. All she could do was call out for help. After only five minutes of sitting in the dark trap she heard footsteps. "Help! In here!" She called out looking up through the top of the pit. A face of a wolf demon appeared. He was huge, had a wide brow, and tiny eyes. He was definitely no Koga. "I fell in here on my way to see Koga….of the wolf-demon tribe….do you know him?" Kitsune asked. She had a feeling that this guy was a little slow after he didn't respond. He just lowered his giant arms into the pit-fall trap.

He lifted the deer on one shoulder and Kitsune on the other. "Hey, watch it buddy!" she said as he roughly flung her body like a rag doll. Her face was inches away to from the face of the dead deer as he walked with both of them in tow. Kitsune couldn't see in front of her but she could tell that they were approaching the tribe's hideout. They came to a dusty clearing with a campfire and a large cluster of wolf-demons. With a hard thud, the giant wolf-demon dropped both the deer and Kitsune on the dusty, hard ground. "Ouch!" she said rubbing her butt. "I need to see Koga immediately. Tell him it's Kitsune," she commanded the group of smaller wolf-demons that began to gather around her.

If it weren't for her possibly broken ankle she would get up and find Koga herself. They all started to laugh dark-sounding laughs that made Kitsune's blood run cold. "Why should we do anything you say human," one said. "Where is Koga? Or Ginta or Hakaku? I'm their ally," she said beginning to panic. "They're not in charge of us," another one said causing the group to laugh like hyenas.

She reached for her weapon on her belt, but she was too slow. A wolf-demon quickly kicked it out of her hand into the hands of another demon. "And what were you planning on doing with this?" he asked in a mocking tone. "Give it to me and I'll show you," Kitsune growled. "Oh this one's got a little fire in her." "Yea she's kind of sexy huh? Maybe we shouldn't eat her just yet."

Before Kitsune could fight back the demons had a tight rope tied around her. "Let me go you bastards!" she screamed getting more than just scared. She grew frantic and tried to pull out of the ropes. "Squirm all you want," the closest wolf-demon said squatting in front of her. "What's up with those weird clothes she's wearing?" one wolf-demon in the back of the group asked. "I don't know…let's find out if she's normal underneath them," the one in front of Kitsune said. He had long spiky hair and a scar on his cheek; he looked older than Koga, but definitely not stronger.

The scary look in his eyes was obvious as he reached for the collar of Kitsune's shirt while licking his sharp canines. He grabbed her collar and yanked down, exposing the white flesh of her chest along with the top part of her black bra. "KOOGAAAAA!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. "I already told you human, that young leader of ours won't help you," the wolf-demon laughed.

Just then a tall figure appeared on a rock above the clearing. "Take your hands of her or I'll rip them off," Koga growled in the darkest voice Kitsune had ever heard him use. The wolf-demon removed his hand but didn't back up.

"Is this another one of your human pets Koga? How about you act like a real leader and find us a better place to live or avenge our fallen brothers?" he said snidely. In one swift movement Koga jumped off of the rock and landed in between Kitsune and the demon.

"Be careful Mao…remember how you got that scar in the first place? I won't hesitate giving you another one," Koga said bearing his teeth. The wolf-demon he called Mao scoffed but backed off nonetheless. "If anyone dares to try to eat Kitsune I promise you won't eat in a week! And if you try any funny-business then don't doubt that I won't cut off something else; now am I clear!?" Koga yelled out at his group of men. For ones that had been talking tough before, they all backed down quickly.

Koga grabbed Kitsune in his arms and walked with her to a cave with a fire going inside of it. He sat her down on a soft, brown hide and sat down in front of her. He sat her whip beside of her. She hadn't even noticed that he grabbed it back in the clearing.

"Are you alright?" he asked looking in her eyes. "I'm fine. They didn't hurt me or anything…but I did twist my ankle when I fell in the trap," she said calmly. "Koga you can untie me from these ropes now, I'm not your prisoner," she said struggling to remove herself from the ties.

"I don't know if that's correct," he replied smugly as he stood up. "You trespassed on my territory without warning and teased my men," he said. Kitsune couldn't tell if he was joking or if he really sounded angry. "Koga, be serious, let me go," she said sternly. He crouched down an inch from her face. "Why are you here," he asked in a low voice.

She sighed. "I came to see if you would come back. I, er, we need your help. It wouldn't be the same to defeat Naraku without you," Kitsune said looking at the ground. "I can find Naraku on my own," Koga said sounding threatened. "Koga cut the crap!" Kitsune boldly stated. Koga's eyes grew large and he backed up upon hearing the seriousness in her voice.

"W-what did you say to me!?" he asked in disbelief. "Kagome isn't the whole world, so what if she's not interested in you, if you ask me she's crazy! But there are more important things, like your pride and avenging your clan. I'm not saying that you need us to defeat Naraku, I'm saying that we need you. Friends are allowed to admit that," she said, her voice lightening up towards the end. With one flick of his nail Koga broke the binds holding Kitsune. He grabbed her hand. "I needed to hear that," he mumbled and flashed a quick smile that almost made Kitsune's heart melt.

"Koga, Koga, we heard you and Mao almost got into a scuffle…..oh, hi Kitsune." Ginta and Hakaku raced into the cave only to see Koga holding Kitsune's hand. Koga dropped her hand immediately and looked up at the two wolf-demons. "What are you idiots goin' on about?" he asked nonchalantly.

"We heard there was a human girl here and we thought it was Kagome," Ginta said awkwardly. "Everyone was saying that she looked delicious," Hakaku added making Kitsune blush. Koga walked up and smacked Hakaku on the back of the head. "Well no one's eating her alright!?" he said. "Oh boy, wait till Ayame hears about this," Ginta said thoughtfully.

As if the name was a curse Koga immediately slapped his hand around Ginta's mouth. "Who's Ayame?" Kitsune asked quizzically. "Koga's fiancé, he hasn't said anything about her?" Hakaku said having recovered from his hit to the head. "Fiancé!?" Kitsune asked in disbelief. "No she just thinks we're engaged, but I already told Kagome I would marry her!" Koga yelled in defense. "Oh, Kagome…right," Kitsune said growing silent. "Smooth move," Hakaku said earning another swift punch to the head. "Wh-what I meant Kitsune is," Koga started. "It's alright Koga. It's your business not mine," Kitsune said plainly.

"I'm ready to catch up with the group when you are," she stated trying to stand up. The pain on her ankle caused her to slump back down onto her knees. Hakaku and Ginta said their goodbyes and left, sensing that it was time for Koga to leave again. "We hope your ankle gets better Kitsune," they said as they waved goodbye.

Koga swept Kitsune into his arms again; she wrapped her arm around his neck in response. There was something about the way he held her that made her feel so small and insignificant, yet so protected at the same time, like nothing could hurt her. She wished that that was true as he began running away from the wolf-demon tribe. It was ironic that the man that made her feel the safest was also the one that hurt her the most. Neither one spoke a word as Koga ran even faster towards the direction of the others.

"I think we should wait at the base of the mountain for Kitsune to return. With or without Koga," Kagome stated. It had only been twenty minutes since they had split up. "I agree," Lina said, adjusting her bandages under her kimono. She was still sore, but it was tolerable. Inuyasha grunted letting everyone know that he too agreed with Kagome. Shippo jumped on to Kagome's back, "Me too!" the little fox demon called.

Miroku was the only one who didn't respond to the earlier statement. No one seemed to realize except for Lina. She still felt like a home wrecker. She had to keep reminding herself that it wasn't just her fault. Miroku was to blame just as much as she was. He knew exactly what he was doing when he had placed his hand on her cheek that night.

Lina shook her head, trying to clear it of any thoughts of the monk. Instead she turned her thoughts to her friend. _I hope Kitsune is doing alright _She thought. She had to admit that Kitsune had grown since the day they first fell down the Bone Eater's well. Lina was surprised when her friend had offered to go after the wolf demon by herself. She had a feeling that part of it had to with the fact that Kitsune liked Koga. Lina also believed that Kitsune felt like she needed to do this alone. She felt like a mother watching her child grow up just to leave her.

Koga wasted no time heading towards Mount Hotarubi. He tore through the forest leaving a trail of dust behind them. Kitsune couldn't help but think back to the conversation they had shared back in the wolf demon den. _A fiancé, he has a freaking fiancé _She beat herself up mentally. Why hadn't anyone told her about this? You would think that's something that would have come up during their travels. Unless no one else knew about it. That would make sense. Maybe Kagome didn't know. And if Kagome didn't know about it, then the rest of the group wouldn't. She let out a sigh.

"You doing alright? I'm not holding you too tightly am I?" Koga questioned, slowing down just a tad. He looked at her with worried eyes. "Is it your ankle?" He asked again. _How dare he look at me like that _Kitsune thought. _He has no right _She added. "It aches a little, but I'm fine," she replied. She refused to make eye contact with the leader of the wolf demon pack. She knew that once she did her anger would melt away. And Kitsune wanted and had every right to be upset with him right now. "Are we getting close?" she asked turning her eyes to the trees whizzing past them. "It shouldn't be long now," Koga responded. He began running at full speed again, heading straight for Mount Hotarubi.


	8. Chapter 8: Journey Up the Mountain

The group was moving a lot slower now that they had lost two modes of transportation. Koga and Kirara made traveling much more…quicker. That was for sure. It seemed like hours had passed in silence. But Lina noticed the mountain had grown in size as they approached the base of the humongous, natural structure.

She also noticed that she had been taking up the rear of the group for a while now. Her wound had started to become a bother the last couple of miles. Either she was sweating from all the walking or it was a fever. She believed it was the latter of the two. And there was no doubt in her mind that she had re-opened the arrow hole in her shoulder. But she refused to slow down the group even further.

"How much longer do you think it'll be?" Lina finally asked. She pressed her hand against the raw flesh around the unnatural hole in her body. "A couple more hours would be my guess," Kagome replied, without looking back. "We should reach there about sunset," Miroku added. It had been the first thing he had said the whole trip.

"Great," Lina sighed. She wiped the sweat from her brow. "I'm surprised you didn't ask sooner," Inuyasha laughed. "I could smell your wound bleeding for the last hour and a half," the dog demon added. He stopped and turned to face her. "And you didn't say anything!?" Kagome exclaimed. Her hands were balled up into tiny fists. The look in her eyes spoke of murder. "I wanted to see how long she could last," Inuyasha explained. "I didn't think she would last this long," he added with a smile. "That's just messed up, Inuyasha," Shippo stated, crossing his small arms.

Lina could tell that the half demon was starting to respect her. It was probably because he was just as thick headed as she was. Miroku was quickly at Lina's side. "Why didn't you say something," he asked worriedly. The monk began to take medical supplies from his bag. "I didn't want to slow us down even more," she replied.

After speaking with the old man's spirit back at the castle that Kitsune and her use to defend, Lina had started taking this whole finding/killing Naraku thing seriously. They would find him even if it killed her. This was the first time she was part of something bigger than herself. All she had to worry about back in her time was if she was going to pass her next test, or if Kitsune and her would get into the coolest club in school.

Now people were depending on her. Lives were in her hands and she could feel the pressure to do the best she could. Miroku began to dress her wound with fresh bandages. After the monk finished playing doctor the group continued towards Mount Hotarubi.

Koga was focused on the task at hand. They were getting closer to finding Naraku. And when they did, he would kill the fucker. He would finally have his vengeance for his fallen comrades. It had been a long journey for the wolf demon. He had battled many demons and followed many dead-end trails trying to find this bastard. He thought all hope was lost until that faithful day when he met two reincarnated demon slayers.

Naraku's trail had returned. He looked down at one of the reincarnations that he was holding as he ran towards the next clue of Naraku's whereabouts. Her reddish-brown hair blew in the wind as they raced around rocks, trees, and bushes that surrounded them for miles. Koga had to admit that she had some balls following him back to his den. It just proved that she was just as invested in this thing as he was and he admired that.

Kitsune could just be the one who could help him get over Kagome…finally. Being shot down really took a toll after a while. His thoughts were cut short when a familiar sent hit his nose. He slowed to a stop.

"What is it?" Kitsune questioned. She had been so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't even realized how close they were to the mountain now. "Naraku…he has been here recently," Koga responded. He set his companion down lightly next to him. They still had about a ten minute run before they reached where they were supposed to meet the others.

Kitsune's ankle was feeling much better know that it had time to rest. It was safe to assume that it wasn't broken. But it was still throbbing and a little swollen. It was scary how apparent Naraku's presence was. Kitsune didn't have super hearing or smell, but she could feel his evilness in the air around her.

The dark aura was eating at everything it touched. Trees were rotting, the grass dead and dry. There was nothing green growing anywhere she could see. "At least we know we are going in the right direction," the wolf demon stated. He bent down and picked up some dirt.

"There must be something big going on here. He has tainted the soil to the point where nothing will grow here again," Koga growled, throwing the soiled dirt down. Kitsune was at a loss for words. This shit was getting deep; fast. There was just too much to process. "Koga…" she whispered. Without a word, he walked to her side. "I know," he stated. It was like he was reading her mind. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, or Lina." He took her hand to show that he really meant it.

"Plus, Kitsune, you're the smartest girl I know. You knew about my wolves, and I'm positive you know enough to keep yourself alive. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to protect you. I will until my last breath. I can promise you that."

She had been so determined to stay mad at him for not telling her that he had a fiancé, but that disappeared as soon as he had taken her hand. Kitsune nodded, wrapping her fingers around his. She took comfort in how sure he was about the potential battle coming up.

Giving Koga's hand a little squeeze, she said, "We should get going. We don't want the others to have to wait too much longer." He nodded, giving her hand a squeeze back. "Oww!" Kitsune shrieked. _Damn he's strong _She thought, rubbing her hand. "Sorry, I guess I don't know my own strength," Koga chuckled. He took her in his arms again. And before she could say "taco" they were racing through the dying landscape.

"This is where we will wait for Kitsune," Inuyasha declared. Miroku was spot on; the sun was just setting when they arrived at the meeting area. "I hope she gets here soon. This place is freaking me out," Kagome whimpered. Shippo was hiding his head in her shoulder. The poor thing was shaking.

Lina agreed with her one hundred percent. The base of the mountain was deserted and barren. Everything was dying, which made her feel even worse. What if she were to die here too? What if they all perished here? "She shouldn't be too far away. I bet she gets here before the sun completely sets," Inuyasha stated confidently. "You can smell her, can't you?" Miroku asked, raising his eye brow in suspicion. "Yeah, and that damn wolf too," he sighed.

"That's good right?" Shippo questioned. He still refused to let go of Kagome. For the first time Lina wondered why they brought the little fox demon child along with them. It was obviously too dangerous. He couldn't even fend for himself. She thought that Inuyasha would think that it would be annoying to have to protect Shippo every time they faced a demon in battle.

"Of course, with Koga we have a better chance at defeating whatever evil lays a head," Miroku said. The second after the monk had finished his sentence a whirl wind rushed into the middle of the group. "Damn straight you do," the wolf demon smiled. Kitsune was still in his arms. From what Lina could see her friend was perfectly fine. That was a huge relief. And it was a bigger relief that her friend had been successful in bringing Koga back with her. Lina couldn't imagine going into battle without him.

He set Kitsune down beside him. "I'm so glad you're okay," Lina smiled. She took her friend in a huge hug. "You can let go now. You're crushing me," Kitsune gasped. She finally had to push her way free. She worried her friend was going to smother her with love. "Sorry," Lina stated. But she wasn't sorry at all. She was just happy that the group was back together again. Well almost the whole group. Sango was still off somewhere throwing herself a pity party. Well there's nothing she could do about it now. What's done is done.

"So what's the plan?" Lina asked after all the welcome backs were said. She was hoping that they would head to the demon infested castle in the morning. That way she would have at least one more night to recover. She could still feel that she had a slight fever, but nothing that would hinder her from going with the rest of the group if they did decide to go tonight.

"I say we attack now," Koga growled. Kitsune couldn't help but smile. Of course he would say that. He wanted to get this done and over with. It was just typical Koga. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I agree with wolf-boy," Inuyasha stated. "We could use the darkness to our advantage," Miroku agreed. "The element of surprise," Kitsune whispered. "Exactly," the monk said.

"I guess this is it guys. Live together, die alone," Lina said. She took Kitsune's hand in hers. Kitsune took Koga's hand in the other. Miroku took Lina's, looking her in the eye. "Live together, die alone," the monk resounded.


	9. Chapter 9: Mount Hotarubi

Luckily the castle wasn't too far up the mountain. But by the time the group reached the summit of Mount Hotarubi the sun had completely set. Weapons in hand, the group eyed the building. It seemed to be abandoned, but they knew better. The boy back at the village had confirmed that there had been massive amounts of demons in the area. All the demons answered to Naraku and Naraku alone; which meant he was close.

The courtyard surrounding the castle was empty and dark, but there was a single light coming from inside the structure. Lina tightened her grip on Raitou's handle. Despite her injury she was ready to kick some demon ass. And she felt even more confident with Miroku by her side. He gave the young warrior an encouraging smile.

Kitsune looked to Koga. She still had mixed feelings about this plan, but like Lina had said, they were in this together. Koga placed his hand on Kitsune's shoulder. He nodded to her, letting her know that he was there for her.

"Okay so this is what we're going to do," Inuyasha started. Everyone turned their attention to their "leader". "Kagome is going to shoot an arrow with one of Miroku's charms attached to it at the building. That should force whatever's inside to vacate the castle. If we're lucky there will only be a couple of demons. But that can't be guaranteed. So let's assume there's a couple hundred. Koga and I will be in the middle of the courtyard. We have a better chance of killing most of the bastards. Lina, Kitsune, Miroku, you guys will be towards the edge of the courtyard, picking off as many of them as you can. Miroku don't use the wind tunnel unless it's absolutely necessary," Inuyasha finished. The monk nodded, understanding his role.

"What about me?" Kagome asked. "You will remain up here with Shippo. If you have a clear shot on a demon take it. But keep at least one arrow just in case Naraku shows himself," the half demon instructed. Kagome was about to argue but quickly decided against it. Inuyasha seemed to know what he was talking about which was comforting.

"Are we ready?" Koga questioned. Lina could tell that he was getting antsy. Inuyasha nodded. "May my arrow fly straight and true," Kagome whispered, more to herself than anything. She let loose the bow string.

The arrow with Miroku's charm attached flew through the air. A thud echoed through the mountain ridge as it stuck to the wood of the castle. It took a moment to work, but when it did, all hell broke loose.

Purple electricity consumed the building, making the castle pulsate. That's when the hand-to-hand group ran through the courtyard gates. Kitsune felt like this was a little too déjà vu for her. They had practically done the same thing back at the other castle where they had met Kagura. But this time was a little different. They were more prepared this time.

After the castle had stopped pulsating a figure exited the building. The "person" was covered in a white baboon pelt, making it impossible to see their face. It stood about one hundred yards in front of them.

"I was almost positive that it would take you longer to find me, Inuyasha," a deep voice called from under the disguise. "You should have more faith in me….Naraku," the dog demon replied. His voice dripped with angry venom.

"I do have faith, faith that you all shall meet your maker this night," Naraku chuckled. "I'd like to see you try, little baboon man," Koga growled. His fangs were bared and his claws were begging to connect with flesh. "Let's end this now," Miroku stated, holding his staff in both hands.

In the same moment Kensaki no Muchi, Raitou, and Inuyaha's weapon transformed into the demon slaying machines they were. "Tessaigaaa!" Inuyasha called as his sword came to life.

Naraku nodded, "As you wish."

The hooded demon raised his arms above his head. The ground began shaking. The earthquake only lasted for a moment. Lina and Kitsune couldn't believe their eyes as roots began growing from Naraku's feet. Dozens of the thick branches sprouted out. They reached out towards the heroes, threatening to crush them.

Out of nowhere an arrow rushed towards Naraku's head, but it was useless. One of the roots reached up and blocked Kagome's attack.

"The only way to get to him is to cut the roots," Miroku called to the girls. They both nodded, showing that they understood what the monk had just said.

Inuyasha and Koga had already started chopping their way through the roots that surrounded them. One of the wooden tentacles focused in on Miroku. Kitsune knew that the monk's staff wouldn't be much protection against the attack. She quickly cracked her whip at the monster root. Kensaki no Muchi dug its knife like spikes into the wood. Tugging as hard as she could, she slammed it into the dirt.

Lina saw her opening and took it. She charged with her sword above her head. And when she was within striking distance she swung down. The root stopped its pursuit of Miroku as smoke rose from the stump. "Thanks girls," the monk called as he ran to assist Inuyasha and Koga.

Soon Lina and Kitsune fell into a routine. Kitsune would snag a root from hell with her whip and Lina would chop it off with her sword. This worked for a while, but the wood tentacles seemed to learn from their mistakes. They dodged Kitsune's whip completely now.

"Damn," she sighed, wiping her brow of sweat. "Smart little fuckers," Lina stated, blocking a baby root from grabbing her leg.

Inuyasha, Koga, and Miroku didn't seem to be having any luck either. There were about twenty roots left. Miroku and Inuyasha were yelling at each other about something while Koga continued to try to get at Naraku. He would dodge one root, swipe his claws at another.

Of course the girls were too busy watching the boys "fight" that they didn't even notice that one of the roots was coming straight for them. From the corner of her eye, Lina saw it approaching. Without thinking she shoved her friend out of the way.

"Humph," Kitsune grunted as she hit the ground. _What the hell, Lina! _She thought looking up at her. Just as she did, Lina was swept into the air. _This is gonna hurt _the air borne warrior thought right before she hit the ground. The air rushed out of her lungs for the second time that week.

"Lina!" Miroku and Kitsune cried. The root that had just assaulted her was going back for seconds. But Miroku and Kitsune were unable to aid her because they now had their own problems. Two of the largest wooden tentacles snaked towards them. The monk dodged the attacks left and right, but was still unable to reach his fallen comrade.

Kitsune's whip cracked through the air, as she tried to defend herself against the monstrous root. Lina fought to get her breath back. Her head was throbbing from the impact. Her pursuer was about to be upon her, she had to think fast.

Luckily her sword had landed right next to her. She quickly took Raitou in her right hand. The sword came right back to life. The root started to wrap itself around her leg when she decided it was the right time to strike. With a grunt she chopped at the hellish wood. Knowing that she was now safe she laid back down.

Kitsune had finally gotten a good grip on her root and Koga sliced through it no problem. Inuyasha had aided Miroku with his problem. "Lina, you okay?" Kitsune asked, trying to catch her breath. Lina didn't say anything, but instead lifted her hand with a thumbs up sign. Her friend let out a small chuckle. Her friend still had her sense of humor that was for sure.

Suddenly, Kirara appeared flying in the distance with a battle-ready Sango on her back. "Hiraikotsu!" Sango yelled releasing her giant weapon. The group heard the familiar sound as they watched the giant boomerang fly through the air, splintering one of the giant roots. "Sango!" Shippo and Kagome yelled looking up at the demon slayer.

Sango jumped off of Kirara who immediately walked over to protect Kagome and Shippo. "Sango is here?" Miroku said taking his guard off of Naraku's possessed roots. "This is still my fight!" Sango said, again releasing her weapon, this time aiming for the center of the mass.

Kitsune had to admit that she was happy for the extra help, but she knew her friend would be highly disappointed. Lina didn't look too concerned though as she ran around Naraku's protective wooden cocoon looking for a week spot.

"Everyone, keep hitting the same spot!" Inuyasha yelled out. "If we break through the roots guarding Naraku he'll be vulnerable…and then that bastard's mine!" Inuyasha said gripping tighter to his Tessaiga. The group complied, with the exception of Miroku and Koga who were more determined to kill all of the roots that were attacking them once and for all.

Kitsune saw as a large root twisted around Koga's thigh. Before he could do anything she snapped her whip towards the root, allowing it to wrap around, and pulled with all of her strength, breaking the root in half. "I don't need your help, focus on Naraku!" Koga snapped at her.

She was immediately angered by his attitude. What happened to the sweet Koga that held her hand before? Her anger worked to her advantage as she began lashing Kensaki no Muchi towards the same spot Sango had hit with her Hiraikotsu.

While watching the movement of Naraku's never-ending roots, Lina got a brilliant idea. After many, relentless strikes from Sango and Kitsune, she finally saw her chance. She allowed one of the largest roots to grab her around her waist. It flung her around the air and violently shook her like a baby playing with a rattle. As the root began to lift her higher into the air, Lina was only a few feet from Naraku's strong barricade and the small hole Sango and Kitsune had made.

With Raitou in her hands, Lina wielded her weapon towards the hole. She felt a strong sensation from the center of her body that tingled through to the tips of her fingers and toes. It was as if all of her body's energy was leaving her and exiting through the tip of her sword. The bright yellow lightening hit the wood of Naraku's barrier, splitting it open.

"Inuyasha, NOW!" Lina yelled as the root violently flung her around like a rag doll.

"WIND SCAR!" Inuyasha yelled releasing his sword's powerful attack. The attack hit Naraku head on, and in a flash of light it disintegrated his powerful roots.

Lina hit the ground hard. She glanced up, shielding her eyes from the flash. When she glanced up she noticed that there was nothing under the baboon façade Naraku was wearing. Miroku, who rushed to Lina's side, noticed the same thing.

"Guys that isn't Naraku!" Miroku yelled making everyone's heads flash towards him. "It's only a puppet!" Miroku yelled throwing a sacred sutra at the baboon suit floating in the air. When it made contact, the suit began vibrating and what looked a hundred demons rushed out, covering the sky with a thick, black and purple miasma that made the air turn ice cold.

"God DAMNIT!" Inuyasha yelled punching the ground so hard that the surrounding rocks flew in the air. "I thought we actually had him this time; how foolish!" Koga growled clenching his fists.

The night sky that was once lit with stars was now covered in a thick cloud of demons. Kitsune felt terrible for the obvious pain this was causing her comrades, but she was more concerned with the hundred demons lurking in the sky above her. They all had long, snake-like bodies and they ranged in colors. Some had faces that resembled fearsome dragons while others had faces that reminded Kitsune of flies.

"Inuyasha?" Lina asked questioning the group's next move.

"These are weaker demons; we shouldn't have any problem killing them. Use them as target practice for all I care," Inuyasha scoffed. He was clearly devastated by the evil trap Naraku had set up with the help of his demon puppet.

"We want your souls!" the demons all said in unison. They began falling down upon the group like deadly rain drops. Despite their extreme exhaustion, the girls didn't think twice about their counter attack. They grabbed their weapons and immediately began slicing the lesser demons into smaller chunks.

Lina didn't even need to use her lightning strikes; it took too much of her energy, plus these demons were anything but challenging. There were just so many of them. Kitsune looked over to see Koga slicing demons into long strips as they tried to attack his legs. The demons were simply surrounding the girls and the others, but they were swarming Koga with some purpose. _Why do they keep going after his legs?_ she wondered.

"We want your sacred jewel shards wolf-demon. They're ours to bring back to our master!" the demons hissed. "Over my dead body!" Koga snarled easily killing any demon that took him on.

After killing what felt like a thousand demons, the group could finally settle down. Lina and Kitsune collapsed on the ground, sweat dripping off their heads. Lina raised her arm in some kind of victory stance. "We are officially demon slayers," Lina said making Kitsune laugh.

"C'mon we might as well check out the inside of the castle before we settle down," Inuyasha stated. Lina got up but Kitsune refused. "Hell no Inuyasha. I have walked like 50 miles today, twisted my damn ankle, killed like 50 demons, plus, I practically got raped by wolf-demons! And have you forgotten the fact that Lina got _shot_ the other day? How is she ever supposed to heal?" Kitsune said with a fair amount of attitude.

Lina walked over to Koga and punched him square in the back of the head. "How did you let her almost get RAPED!?"Lina yelled scolding Koga as if he was a puppy that just peed on the carpet. "How was I supposed to know she was coming after me!? Plus, it's not like my men get to see cute girls that often," Koga said thoughtfully. "That's so excuse!" Lina yelled with her hands on her hips.

Kitsune smiled at the sounds of her friend sticking up for her. If Lina had known earlier that Kitsune had put herself in such a dangerous position she would have scolded her instead of Koga. She was glad he was getting the brunt of it.

"Kitsune look out!" Inuyasha yelled all of a sudden. One of the demons that had escaped from Naraku's puppet had been hiding in the shadows waiting to strike. It shot a huge ball of black and purple electric energy out of its mouth and it was headed straight for the lounging Kitsune.

In a flash, Koga was in front of the vulnerable slayer. He threw his body over hers and the deadly energy blast hit him directly in the back. In a howl of pain, Koga struggled to get up but couldn't. Kitsune watched, fear on her face as Koga's eyes clouded over. He fell unconscious.

"WINDSCAR!" Inuyasha yelled, disintegrating the demon immediately. Koga's body laid lifeless on top of Kitsune. Lina ran over with a look of terror that had to have matched the look on Kitsune's face.

Miroku was the first to react. He gently pulled Koga off of Kitsune and laid him flat on the ground. The blast had made it through his armor and left a black burn mark on his charred flesh. "Koga!" Kagome yelled running to the wolf-demon's side. Koga's eye barely opened and he groaned.

"Oh Kagome…don't worry about me," he said weakly. "You heard him Kagome, he's gonna be fine," Inuyasha said with a soft voice; he actually sounded sympathetic to his temporary ally. Kagome smiled and put her hand on top of Koga's.

"What are we all just sitting here for, we have to do something!" Kitsune said in a panicked tone. All of her previous ailments had passed away and now she was only focused on the wounded wolf-demon. If he hadn't jumped out to save her he wouldn't be in this position.

Miroku and Inuyasha pulled Koga to a small clearing next to the castle where Kagome had already begun to start a fire. Kitsune rolled up one of her shirts to place under Koga's head.

"We have to go check for more demons before we settle down for the rest of the night," Lina said to the group. She was absolutely exhausted and her shoulder had begun to throb, but they couldn't have another demon sneaking up on them. Next time one of them could end up being hurt worse, or even killed.

"It will only take a couple minutes if we don't find anything," Miroku said smiling at Kitsune. He could tell that she was reluctant to leave Koga. "I can stay with him," Kagome said; she could sense that Kitsune was worried as well. Kitsune nodded her head and started to walk away.

She felt a hand grab around her foot and looked down to see Koga's hand wrapped tightly around her, stopping her from leaving. "Kitsune can stay here and rest with Koga while we go. Hopefully we won't need her help," Lina said softly as she picked up Raitou.

The group followed Lina into the castle but they weren't gone for long. When they came back they saw Kitsune diligently sitting by Koga with his hand on her lap; she hadn't moved an inch since they left.

"They look like they've gotten…closer," Sango said to Miroku as they stood a ways back from the campsite. Everyone else was just starting to get settled into their positions for sleep.

"When you are constantly fighting for your life you tend to get closer to people. You never know when you many never see that person again," Miroku said sitting on a stump. He was exhausted, but he knew if he was going to talk to Sango he had to keep his distance from the rest of the group. "Is that what we had Miroku? Were we only close because of circumstance, because I refuse to believe that," Sango said in a determined tone.

Sango was a fighter…but Miroku had grown tired of the battle a long time ago. Miroku placed his hand on Sango's. "Maybe that is the case Sango," he said matter-of-factly. "No…it's because of that girl Miroku! You have been acting like this ever since she came here! What is it about her that I don't have? S-she's rude and crude and doesn't think twice before making a decision that would affect everyone. She is ruining what we have," Sango said, her eyes swelling with tears.

Out of pure instinct the monk grabbed Sango and held her close. He truly had loved and needed her once, but at this moment he didn't feel the same. Yes Lina was…different, but she made Miroku feel all of the things that he used to believe were good about him, while lately Sango only ever brought out the bad.

He wished that he could say that to the weeping Sango, but he didn't have the strength. _I'm sorry Lina…I wish I could be that strong for you_ Miroku thought with a solemn look on his face. "Sango…let's go to sleep," Miroku finally stated. Seeing and hearing Sango cry was weighing too heavily on his conscious. The two finally joined the rest of the snoozing group.

**Sorry this chapter's so long guys :/ We didn't want to split up the fight scene. **

**Stay tuned for some drama, I wish we could make everyone happy and have perfect happy endings but that just isn't possible; so we apologize in advance if your favorite character gets insulted.  
**

**There may be drama coming up but then you can expect a little comic relief! **

**We hope that you enjoy the story so far and thank all of our readers and followers, you guys make us want to keep writing!**

** Sheyvannasensei a.k.a Savanna and Sheyenne 3**


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